Alcohol and tobacco: how smoking may promote excessive drinking.
Cigarette smokers tend to drink more alcohol than their nonsmoking peers. In this issue of Neuron, Doyon et al. (2013) found that nicotine-induced increases in stress hormones can augment ethanol self-administration in rats, suggesting that a drug interaction may contribute to this phenomenon.
National Institute on Drug Abuse, Intramural Research Program, Cellular Neurobiology Research Branch, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA.
Jonathan P
JP
Britt
Antonello
A
Bonci
D000818:Animals; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism*; D006728:Hormones / Q000378:metabolism*; D009538:Nicotine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018722:Nicotinic Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects*; D017557:Ventral Tegmental Area / Q000187:drug effects*
D006728:Hormones; D018722:Nicotinic Agonists; D009538:Nicotine; D004298:Dopamine