BRITISH -AMERICAN TOBACCO COMPANY LTD
A member ofthe B-A-T Inclusuies Group
Registered Office:
PO BOX 482 Wesuninster House
7 NUllbank London S W I P 37-
Telephone: oi-z22 =22
Telex: 27384 BATTOB G
4 th May 1988
Dr. V. D. Rowland,
Rothmans international,
Aylesbur,
Dear David,
I would suggest that, rather than concentrating
your discussion arcund
their references, that vou argue against the
concept of tobacco depen_~ence
in its specific aspects, bringing in their
references as necessarv.
think- that would make the reply more structured
and it would certaini,
constitL:te a valid scientific argument that
they'd have difficulty
refuting. Just because DSM III decrees that there
is such a thing as
tobacco dependence does not make it true if the
evidence is largely
against iz.'
I enclose a summary of an approach that I've fcund
to be quite
convincing in the past. If you take the major
components of the
definitions of addiction one by one and consider
the evidence for
smoking/nicotine then it does not add up to a
particularly convincing
picture.
I'm a little worried about vour last two sentences
and would reco=end
their removal"
I hope this helps!
With best wishes,
L
Dr. Sharon Bo,se
Un
Lj4
Enc(s) (71,
fricorn,orated in London Number 74974
Cabl-Vehicularl-andonMr
BATCo document for Province of British Columbia 29
October 1999


It is -ell known that a satisfactorv definition
-,f "addiction" (i.e. one
that takes into account all factors that could
reasonably be supposed to
be associated with the problem, and that has
received widespread
acceptance in both academic and regulatory
circles) probably does not
exist. However, by and large the majority of
definitions of "addiction"
or "dependence" incorporate a number of components
which are given varying
degrees of weight according to the particular
definition. If one
considers the individual components that have been
used to constitute most
of the -idely-kno-n definitions, then it is clear
that smoking does not
easily fit into any such model.
Phi-sical dependence. The existence of phvs;cal
dependence is an
inference made from the observations of a
stereccyped withdrawal syndrome
that occurs when a chronically-administered drag
discontinued. Shiffman
(1979) concluded that "....the presence of an
abs--inence syndrome is
cruciai to the definition of drug dependence".
::owever, there is
considerable doubt as to whether any symptoms
-.`a~ smokers may experience
hdrawal, or merely symptoms
when they stop smoking are a result of true wit;";
of frustration encountered by many people when
:ney decide to give up
something that they enjoy.
C...... BPING IN NIDA, SHIFFMAN etc]
2. Ps,chological dependence
[...... 3RING IN HENNINGFIELD 1984 - NO
E%;I,'--.',CE OF EUPHORIA;
DI-fIC1"7-Y
_ IN SELF-ADMISISTRATION IS ANI~tk:_zj
3. Tolerance. Whilst some tolerance has been
o~.-served to develop to the
peripheral effects of nicotine and a certain
a=.-,.;nt of metabolic tolerance
occurs, there is no convincing evidence to suggest
that tolerance develops
to whatever psychological benefits smokers may
notain from cigarette
smoking (e.g. improvements in performance etc).
Also, it is well known
that once smokers stabilise into a regular pattern
of smoking behaviour
thev do not tend to increase the;r level of
smo'--ng with time, as is
commonlv otserved with ali addictive substances.
cont .............
LTI
BATCo document for Province of British Columbia 29
October 1999


4. Loss of control. Loss of control of substance
intake is widely held
to be a major component of addictive behaviour
e..-. in alcoholics. This
does not occur in smokers.
5. Deterioration of the individual's functioninit.
Since smoking does not
result in any degree of intoxication as do most
drugs of abuse, there is
no way in which the psychological functioning of
the individual may
deteriorate, and similarly, he is unlikely to
become a danger to society
as a result of his habit. This is considered to be
an important part of a
definition of addiction by the WHO (1957), and by
the National Institute
on Drug Abuse (1979).
k./4
BATCo document for Province of British Columbia 29
October 1999