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Article: Scientists search for genetic factors in nicotine addiction
- Article from:
- Sunday Gazette-Mail
- Article date:
- February 22, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2004 Sunday Gazette-Mail. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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ST. LOUIS - Jennifer Breeding is afraid to die.
Jennifer, 18, is a smoker. Her whole family smokes. So do her
friends. She knows the consequences - lung cancer, heart disease,
death.
"That's why I want to quit," she said.
But it's hard. Really hard.
Jennifer, a junior at the Central Visual and Performing Arts High
School near Fairground Park, Mo., has tried to kick the habit five
times since she started smoking at 15. She's managed to go smoke-
free for up to two weeks but always starts again.
The problem for Jennifer and millions of other smokers is not a
lack of willpower, or even a misguided notion that they can beat the
odds. In some people smoking rewires the brain, producing a powerful ...