Addiction Hardiness effect demonstrated?

[Guest guest]

Hi All

You may remember in a post I wrote to addict-l I suggested

that it is more appropriate to consider ppl with a genetic

resistance to addiction as " Alcohol/Drug Hardy " rather than

ppl with a susceptibility as having " Addictive Disease " .

I was happy to see something reported recently from I

believe the US that supports my idea. It was a report on

the genetics of nicotine addiction.

Apparently there is a gene which controls production of an

enzyme that breaks down nicotine. In abt 20% of

non-smokers it is defective, but in only 10% of smokers.

Ppl with the defective gene take longer to eliminate

nicotine from their system. The result is that smoking

produces higher nicotine levels and hence deters the person

from smoking more often. also, as elimination is slower,

withdrawal is less acute and less craving is felt when the

person stops smoking - hence they are less likely to get

addicted.

This is a fine example as predicted by my " Addiciton

Hardiness " theory. It is the *non-addicts* who possess the

defective gene. In other words, in the absence of

nicotine, having an " addictive nature " - at least in regard

to nicotine - is arguably the natural, healthier state.

I believe similar factors apply to alcohol and possibly

other drugs. what association with genetics showed by

alcoholism is not a result of a " genetic disease of

alcoholism " but the fact that over thousands of years of

alcohol use, especially the last 500 or so of distilled

spirits, there has been an evolutionary pressure to

" alcohol hardiness " that most ppl have inherited, but some

not. however, this lack of hardiness is no justification

whatsoever for considering them " diseased " . if anything,

alcohol-hardy ppl are the ones " diseased " - they have had

to make a metabolic compromise in an alcohol using

environment. The distinction is important because all the

horse manure abt " alcoholic/addict personality " etc is

completely nailed from a genetic perspective - there is no

reason at all for suggesting these ppl have anything wrong

with them genetically.

Pete

----------------------

Cool Briton

PERSONALITY-DISORDERS LIST:

http://rdz.acor.org/athenaeum/lists.phtml?personality-disorders

_____________________

" Every great scientist is part B.F. Skinner and part P.T. Barnum "

- Bart Simpson's science teacher

----

Read this list on the Web at http://www.FindMail.com/list/12-step-free/

To unsubscribe, email to 12-step-free-unsubscribe@...

To subscribe, email to 12-step-free-subscribe@...

--

Start a FREE E-Mail List at http://makelist.com !