Nicotine Benefits? Scientists Gather In Tobacco Country To Discuss New Uses For Nicotine

Scientists considering possible beneficial aspects of nicotine arrived Wednesday for a tobacco company-backed conference, still firm, however, in their conviction that smoking is dangerous.

“Cigarette smoking presents a whole host of toxic substances and cancer-causing chemicals,” said Jed Rose, director of the Center for Nicotine Research.

But Rose said nicotine by itself could have some effects on the brain that might yield new treatments for problems like attention-deficit disorder and Alzheimer’s disease.

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. contributed $15,000 to buy airline tickets and lodging for out-of-town scientists giving presentations at Duke University. Rose’s lab is in the Veterans Administration Hospital next to Duke.

New uses for nicotine would be important news in North Carolina, where tobacco has been the agricultural mainstay for generations.

And Rose said that while nicotine can be synthesized, “it may be more economical to extract it from tobacco.”

Ed Levin, director of the Duke Neurobehavioral Research Laboratory, predicted that recent research and current studies will yield breakthroughs in nicotine use.

He said a scientific journal recently accepted for publication a paper prepared by his lab showing that nicotine reduces symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in adults.

R.J. Reynolds is not interested in influencing the findings or changing the minds of the participants, said a company spokesman.