From: alacolo@frontier.net
Date: Tue, 11/21/00
November 21
In this confidential research document, Philip Morris scientists
hypothesize that adult smokers are hykerkinetic children who have grown up, and
who are now self-medicating with cigarettes. The writer draws a
parallel between Ritalin and nicotine, saying
"...the stimulant characteristics of nicotine
enabled [smokers] to control some of their behavior
problems just as Ritalin does for today's children."
It is also interesting that the report says that smokers are more
impulsive and have more accidents than nonsmokers.
To test the hypothesis about whether adult smokers are
hyperactives who are self-medicating with nicotine, the PM scientists sought
ways to monitor children for a number of years to see if there was a
preponderance of smokers among adults who, as children, were diagnosed as being
hyperactive. It appears that having to gain parental consent for
such a study might have been a roadblock...
"Although school system records would seem best suited
for such research...restrictions on access to records,...[and] on the use
of children in research without the informed consent of their parents will
keep us out of the school systems until the rules are
rewritten..."
Title: SMOKER PSYCHOLOGY BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH ANNUAL
REPORT
Type of Document: Scientific report,
confidential
Author: David R, Dunn WL Jr., Finch A, Gay
E, Ryan F
Recipient: BURNS,K; CARPENTER,R; CLAFLIN,W; DANIEL,H; et
al
Date: 19770613/Y
Page Count: 4
Quote:
Hyperkineses is the technical name for excessive activity which
many children display. These youngsters (usually male) cannot stay still,
are easily distracted, disrupt schoolrooms, lack ability to concentrate, are
very careless and impulsive, often get left and right confused, have trouble
reading, etc. Although a sedative would seem in order, they are better
treated with stimulant drugs, today's favorite being Ritalin, which has the
anomalous effect of quieting them down.
...To the extent that smokers' personality and life styles differ
from those of nonsmokers, Dunn (1973) has pointed out that smokers are
independent, antisocial, active and energetic, extraverted, impulsive, etc., and
that they have more accidents, have poorer academic records, are more often
male, etc.
The congruence...immediately suggests that hyperactives may grow up
to become cigarette smokers, and that the principal reason cigarette smokers
appear to differ from non-smokers is that the smoking group contains most of the
country's formerly hyperactive children, still showing many of the same
characteristics they showed in childhood. It is further tempting to
suggest that in the past hyperactives adventitiously discovered that the
stimulant characteristics of nicotine enabled them to control some of their
behavior problems just as Ritalin does for today's children.
...We have been seeking a data source to provide us with a large
sample of hyperactives who, at the time of their diagnosis, were too young
to be smokers. We would then track these children until they reached
smoking age, and compare the proportion of smokers among them with the
proportion among a control group.
Although school system records would seem best suited for
such research...restrictions on access to records, on
the length of time records can be kept, on the type of
records which can be kept, and on the use of children in research without the
informed consent of their parents will keep us out of the school systems until
the rules are rewritten...
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