16 December 2013
A senior molecular biologist employed by a UK based cigarette manufacturer has
claimed that nicotine is good for you as it makes your brain work better - nicotine has a positive impact on the brain and smoking a cigarette is as ‘safe as drinking a cup of coffee’.
‘When you take nicotine, your brain
works better. It helps with cognition, stimulates and relaxes," David O’Reilly, the molecular biologist said in an
interview with The Sunday Times Magazine.
Professor John Britton, who
leads the tobacco advisory group for the Royal College of Physicians,
said O’Reilly’s claims were ‘irresponsible’ and told ‘one half of the
story’ and they were ‘an attempt to sell as many cigarettes as
possible’.
Britton said, ‘It is true that, in single use, nicotine probably does
improve concentration and hand-eye co-ordination, on a par with what you
get from caffeine.’ Britton said.
‘But it is also a powerfully
addictive drug, and there comes a time when you need nicotine just for
your brain to function normally,’ he added.
A spokesman for
BAT, Will Hill, said the company ‘absolutely’ stood by O’Reilly’s remarks. He said
that nicotine was good for health as it was being used by pharmaceutical
companies to treat Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.
‘O’Reilly is not saying nicotine is
good for you like keeping hydrated or not injecting heroin is good for
you,’ he vindicated.
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