Motivation to Smoke-Due 9/27 Midnight

This article discusses how difficult it is for ex-smokers to remain that way and not relapse. A recent study has proved that viewing smoking, for example in the movies, activates brain structures of the physical act of smoking. This brain activation is suggested to be the cause of relapse of ex-smokers. This evidence helps to further the hypothesis that smoking can be addictive. I have had several family members who has been smokers and tried quitting. My mom used to smoke when she was younger and finally quit. Several years later she reported seeing my sister smoke which caused her to take up the “bad habit” once again. I definitely agree with the article that quitting smoking and refraining from smoking in the future is a huge task. The media is definitely one source of viewing smoking, but viewing others smoking is also a huge source of relapse in my opinion. Smoking, much like drinking, has become a social habit. The most difficult part of quitting smoking is not necessarily quitting itself, but reaming a “quitter” after you are exposed to others who continue to smoke.
I found it very interesting that the article that CFO’s for tobacco companies continue to say that nicotine is not addictive. I have seen several examples of people in my own life who are smokers who refuse to admit that smoking is not addictive. If smoking is not addictive then why is the relapse rate nearly 50% after the first year of quitting? I decided to do more research on this and discovered that nicotine triggers the dopamine or “pleasure pathway”. The environmental act of smoking releases the biochemical agent dopamine. The release of dopamine then acts on brain structures in the limbic system. Once the limbic system is activated, the person experiences a pleasurable felling. Before a smoker has a cigarette they think back to this reward and they want to experience the pleasure again. This can be related back to Chapter three by looking at the steps that are necessary for a reward to be experienced. If a person does not like that they smoke and quit, they are experiencing wanting without liking. Liking and wanting must occur together in order for a person to experience a full reward. If an ex-smoker begins smoking again, they can experience the combined experience of liking and wanting needed to experience the reward of an increase in dopamine release.
This article helped me to tie together the concepts in chapter three with a specific example of smoking. The pathway of dopamine can be related to other neurotransmitters such as serotonin, epinephrine and norepinephrine. Once you understand the concept of one biochemical agent, such as dopamine, it is easy to see how other chemical can affect brain structures and consequently alter or emotions and mood. We have known for a long time that smoking is harmful to our health, but with the understanding from this motivation and emotion class I am well aware that addiction strongly tied to brain activity. This article has further allowed me to see that the social context we are a part of (watching movies portraying smoking) can lead to activation in the brain.

Environmental act, biochemical agent-Dopamine, brain structures, wanting, liking

This article is about how the area of the brain that drives the body movements a smoker makes as they smoke is activated when they watch movies that contain people smoking. This could contribute to relapses, since the behavior of bringing a cigarette up to smoke becomes such a habit to smokers, and is a new reason certain organizations want smoking banned from movies. The article also talked about how difficult it is for people to quit smoking and that of the 50% who try every year, only 5% succeed and 50% will relapse. I thought this article was good because any information that could be used to keep smokers from relapsing (since it is so common) is helpful information. I thought it was interesting because it offered a new reason why smoking should not be in movies, besides the fact that it might cause kids to think that smoking is cool. It was also interesting that it is even possible for something as simple as seeing a person engage in the behavior of smoking could cause an ex-smoker to want to reach for a pack of cigarettes, and what is even more interesting is how much the brain is involved in this process.
One thing I wanted to learn more about was the medicines that can decrease brain responses to images that remind ex-smokers of their cigarettes. Like we talked about in class, environmental cues that smokers associate with smoking causes the brain to want that nicotine reinforcement, so a medication that would lessen that effect would be helpful to someone trying to quit smoking. I found that one of these medications is called bupropion. It was used in a study and the participants that took bupropion reported fewer cravings than the participants that received a placebo when watching videos that contained smoking cues. http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-01-brain-imaging-anti-smoking-medications-curb.html .
The concepts in chapter 3 are shown well in this article. Chapter 3 talked about how specific brain structures generate specific motivational states, such as how the part of the brain linked to smoking generates the motivational state of wanting a cigarette when activated. Biochemical agents stimulate these brain structures and day to day events stir biochemical agents into place. So, the environmental event of seeing an actor smoke in a movie causes the biochemical agent of dopamine to be released in anticipation of nicotine and the part of the brain linked to smoking is activated, which causes the person to be motivated to engage in the behavior of picking up a cigarette. Dopamine release teaches us which events in the environments are rewarding, and to a smoker, nicotine is rewarding. This teaches me that the motivation to quit smoking has to be very strong if the smoker is going to have a chance to succeed. To help themselves quit, they should try and stay away from all environmental agents that could cause that part of their brain to activate. Even once they do quit, they should try and avoid situations where people are smoking to avoid relapses.
Terms: biochemical agents, dopamine, brain structures, reinforcement

The article begins by discussing a study published in The Journal of Neuroscience, that discusses how actually seeing somebody smoke a cigarette (such as in the movies), activates areas of the brain that act on the body movements an individual makes while smoking a cigarette. This can help explain further reasons for relapse into cigarette smoking when individuals may no longer have a chemical dependence on nicotine. This has led to the American Lung Association and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asking for a stop in cigarette smoking shown within movies. The rest of the article explains the same old stuff that you hear every day about cigarette smoking – that it kills more people combined each year than homicides, AIDS, alcohol, narcotics, suicides and motor vehicle accidents. It also continues on about how CEO’s of tobacco companies try to pass the idea that nicotine isn’t addictive in contrast to the 5% of individuals whom successfully quit smoking every year.

Out of the article, I found it interesting that there is more than just a chemical dependence behind cigarette smoking, which could be why cognitive behavioral therapy can be so successful in smoking cessation. I decided to look into the non-nicotine factors that influence cigarette smoking and how there may be more to quitting than just a chemical dependence. Through The New York Times, I found an article that discusses how there may be large social factors that influence quitting cigarette smoking. From this article, I found that studies prove that it is often easier for people to quit cigarette smoking in groups rather than individually. This is because smoking often times comes in social networks of individuals. When multiple individuals in a group quit at one moment, those left smoking are often "casted out" of the social group due to the fact that it is hard and inconvenient for those quitting to remain around the individuals whom still have a strong smoking habit. This is important in understanding how social circles often develop around individuals smoking. From here it makes sense to develop the idea that, since it usually takes the impact of another individual to introduce someone to a smoking habit, it makes sense that it may also take that same individual to help them break it.

From chapter 3, you learn that dopamine is released during cigarette smoking within the nucleus accumbens. This dopamine reaction is what causes cigarette smoking to become a pleasurable activity. It is through the dopamine pathway that many prescription smoking cessation drugs work, because they take away the pleasure from nicotine and thus cigarette smoking. However, individuals still can obtain cravings and want cigarettes due to nicotine no longer being released within the nucleus accumbens. The textbook discusses this wanting (and thus nicotine addiction) existing without pleasure resulting in only a partial reward that occurs without the sensory pleasure of cigarette smoking. This wanting can be sparked when an individual witnesses another individual smoking a cigarette, relating back to how there can be social influences within cigarette smoking.

I suppose that both of these articles have taught me that there are just more than chemical influences when it comes to smoking which I have been able to observe through friends of mine – usually if one individual is going to smoke a cigarette two more individuals follow along.

Kolata, G. (May 22, 2008). Study Finds Big Social Factor in Quitting Smoking. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/22/science/22smoke.html

Picciotto, M. (January 19, 2011). Smoking In Movies: Why Your Brain Thinks It’s Cool. The Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marina-picciotto/smoking-in-movies-think-smoking-looks_b_810561.html

Terms

Dopamine
Nucleus Accumbens

Dr. Marina Picciotto discusses problem of smoking and the bad habits of it as well as the reason why do people smoke or continue to smoke. The main thing that she discusses is that smoking should not be allow in movies because people who try to quit and watch movies they want to go back to that habit. Also, movies shows smoking in a positive view as if it is something "cool" or fancy. While watching movie and seeing somebody smoking our brains activate the drive of smoking and the move to reach for cigarette.
Smoking is a main reason of people' death in the world.It is higher than AIDS, drug use, alcohol use and physical injures combined.
The article is interesting, yet it does not surprise me. We all know how bad is to smoke and how big problem in the world it is. As I mentioned above, smoking is the biggest cause of people's death. I can see it true that people who see in a movie somebody smoking want to reach for cigarette. Not only in movies, but if you have friends who smoke you also want to smoke, you look at them and do the same thing.
Young people sort of learn that bad habits by watching their parents, elder siblings, friends. Kids or young adults think that smoking is something cool and something that they can mind of impressed other peers by smoking and that they are "badass". They learn that habit of this movement of smoking and then when they realize that ills them it is too late because they are addicted to both nicotine and that habits of that movement of smoking. remember from my middle school when kids started smoking just to be cool and hang out with the "bad kids" when they can go on every break behind school building and smoke. For them it was something special that not everyone was doing and they feel like by smoking they are perceived better by their peers.
I would like to learn more about the physical movement of smoking, not actually of the addiction of smoking but just the holding cigarette itself.
While searching about this topic I found some website that talk about smokeless cigarettes free of nicotine, so people who feel like they need to hold cigarette and that movement of smoking can enjoy doing this and not hurting their lungs.
http://www.quit-smoking-stop.com/smokeless-cigarettes.html
"Quitting smokers may find this useful in social situations (e.g at parties or gatherings) and other occasions when they need relief for the habit of holding or inhaling on a cigarette (after a meal for example)."
The concept from chapter 3 helps me understand the article better. Furthermore, the concept of the biological agent such as dopamine we can see how the chemical transmitters can affect the brain functions and then our emotions and mood.

Terms:

dopamine, biochemical agents,

This article was about smoking habits and relapses. It talked about why people research smoking when everyone knows that it is highly harmful. Seeing people smoking on TV makes it more likely that you will smoke and relapse. When you watch movies or a TV show where people smoke activates some brain areas that motivates your body movements a smoker makes a lot throughout the day. We have all heard that media plays a huge part in the reasons why people start smoking and other various activities. We have never really gotten a reason why this is the way it is. I found it interesting that just seeing someone on the TV triggers something in your brain. This is why it is so hard for people who are trying to quit to go for even a year without smoking. I also found it interesting that the CEO’s for the tobacco companies are still saying that nicotine is not addictive. I do not see how people can even think that it is not addictive when time and time again we have seen and it has been proven that it is addictive. I have seen it with people in my life. They have tried to quit but only go so many months before they start again. I would like to learn more about how specifically seeing someone in a movie smoke motivates you to start smoking or pick up smoking again. In an article I found it talk about how they are thinking about making any movie that has smoking in it not viewable for anyone under 18. It also talk about how fifteen year olds who saw a movie with smoking in it was 73% more likely to try smoking than a 15 year old who did not see the movie.( http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/sep/20/smoking-films-automatic-18-rating)

The concepts from chapter three helped to understand how seeing someone smoke can motivate someone to smoke. There is a release of Dopamine in the brain that is associated with the need to smoke. This is why people smoke when they are under a lot of stress or just smoke and feel better. Dopamine is what makes people feel good. This is what makes people like smoking. When you smoke it generates a motivational state of wanting a cigarette when it is activated. This teaches me how hard and complicated it is to actually quit smoking. For a lot of people you cannot just stop smoking, there is a lot of stuff going on in your brain that prevents you to just stop smoking one day. I will never start smoking for this fact. It is not simple to quit and I know so many people that try everything and cannot seem to quit smoking.

Terms: Motivation, liking, wanting, dopamine.

Smoking is bad. Our generation has heard this our whole life. Why is smoking still prevalent in movies and television shows then? Shouldn’t we be trying to curb the appeal to save lives from the leading preventable cause of death in most countries? A new study shows that movies that have actors smoking in them are bad images not only for kids, who we should be setting a good example for, but also for those who are smokers, or those who were but have quit smoking. Watching the act of smoking in a movie triggers a part in the brain that drives the bodily movements a smoker makes many times a day when smoking a cigarette (a movement that has been learned so well by the body as it has done it hundreds or thousands of times). Making this part of the brain more active can lead to a relapse of ex-smokers.

I can totally see how this could be true. The same thing has happened to me when I’m watching a movie (except not with smoking—gross). For instance, when I watch Miss Congeniality, with Sandra Bullock, and there’s a scene when she’s feeling glum and proceeds to eat a pint of ice cream, I usually start craving ice cream too. I see the actor partake in the act, and because I have done this same thing so many times in the past, the areas in my brain are activated. As I empathize with Sandra’s character, I also have the motivational urge to eat sweet junk food.

I think it is interesting that your brain can deeply engrain certain movements or actions of learned behavior from your body into its memory drive, as well as the thoughts and feelings associated with them. It is crazy that if that learned behavior is even seen, the feelings (the good ones in this case) and thoughts, as well as motivations associated with the action can be experienced again.

I wanted to learn more about the prevalence of smoking in movies, since the American Lung Association and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with other organizations have tried to eliminate the smoking in movies for a long time, citing it as bad model for children, and especially teens to view. I found an article (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/20/smoking-scenes-in-movies-_n_688902.html) describing how actors smoking in movies have significantly decreased in the last 20 years, especially after a spike in numbers in 2005. In 2009, more than half of the top145 movies didn’t show smoking at all, and the smoke-free movie numbers were even higher for child- and youth-targeted movies. Many movie studios are adopting smoking policies and putting anti-smoking messages on movies that have smoking in them. Since 2007, the movie rating organization, the Motion Picture Association of America, has considered smoking as a factor in the moving rating system. Some smoking critics think that movies with any tobacco use should be rated as R, but I disagree. Though I’d rather not see people smoking in movies, if smoking, or tobacco use is an important part of the story line or the time period of the movie, then I think it’s okay that it’s in movies. If this is the case, I do think there should be anti-smoking messages in the pre-movie information or in the credits, as some film production agencies are already doing.

Chapter 3 discusses the brain and its biochemical agents. Smoking releases dopamine, the “feel good” hormone, which can lead to addiction, because the person wants to continue to feel that hormone release. Some other principles that apply from chapter three to this article are that motivation cannot be separated from the social context in which it is embedded, and we are not always consciously aware of the motivational basis of our behavior. In reference to the first principle, environmental events in which behaviors are learned (hanging out with friends in a bowling alley where you smoke while you bowl) act as the natural stimulators of the brain’s motivational processes (trying to quit smoking and you go into the bowling alley and you are surrounded by the environmental events that stimulate smoking, making it very difficult to refrain from smoking). In reference to the second principle, people aren’t always aware of the actions going on in their brain that motivate them to do something (i.e.-smoking).

All this information teaches me that in order to effectively quit smoking one must have a very strong will power and motivational drive. Also, I have heard of how hard it is to quit smoking, especially if those around you are people still smoking. There are two main reasons I have never smoked: my grandmother died from a smoking-related illness and I have always disliked the smell of cigarette smoke. I am glad I have never tried a cigarette because this information just solidifies how hard it is to actually quit, once you start—50% of smokers try to quit each year, while only 5% succeed. To those who are trying to quit, or who have ever thought about quitting smoking, I believe it is definitely possible, and an understanding of one’s motivations behind smoking can help in the quitting process…and I guess staying away from movies that have people smoking in them too!

Terms from chapter used: biochemical agents, learned behavior, hormones, dopamine, motivational drive

This article discusses how watching people smoke can lead to an increased interest in smoking especially in those who have recently quit or have had the habit before. Because of this, agencies such as The American Lung Association and the CDC have been trying to remove smoking from the movie screen. Seeing actors smoke on the big screen, can active the areas of the brain that are tied in with physical habits such as smoking. It goes on to discuss just how bad for you smoking really is by stating it is the leading cause of preventable death in most countries and it kills more people a year than drug and alcohol abuse, car accidents, suicides and murders combined; it also prevents wounds from healing and leads to a poor outcome after serious injury or surgery. Statistically, quitting is incredibly difficult with over 50 percent of those you attempt to quit will relapse within a years times. No matter the technique used to held those quit (nicotine replacement, cognitive behavior therapy, helplines) less than five percent succeed. Even with evidence such as this, the article still claims that tobacco companies still deny that nicotine is addictive and once they are addicted it is near impossible to keep them away forever due to the activity in the brain that is responding the physical act of smoking.
I thought this piece brought up a really interesting theory into why so many ex-smokers relapse. I was once told that it only takes three days for nicotine to leave the body so the physical urge dissipates and the real battle is between the smoker and the habit. This would be reinforced by this article, because its claiming that watching smoking activates the part of the brain that stimulates the urge to act upon the habit. It becomes less about the addictiveness of nicotine (which I do believe it is addictive, but the addictiveness of nicotine isn't the main point of the article), but of how the brain makes it difficult to break the habit or continuing to be smoke free just by seeing it.
What I found most interesting was the statistics on the number of smoking related deaths a year. Not only did I not realize how many people it affected, I had no idea it impaired the bodies ability to heal itself or that it was a major reason for poor outcomes of injuries and surgeries.
Since I was so baffled on the affects of smoking, I decided to look further into the idea of smoking preventing the healing of wounds. I clicked on the link and it took me to the site http://www.livestrong.com/article/234656-the-effects-of-smoking-surgery/. In this article, it talks about how smoking affects your heart, lungs, and spine. It states that nicotine constricts the blood vessels and increases platelet adhesiveness which can lead to blood clots. I also learned that smoking affects how well one can heal after a spinal surgery, pose serious cardiac risks to anyone especially those who are going to undergo a procedure, and that smoking narrows the airways in the lungs and can increase the risk of collapse and I've had a collapsed lung before and it is not pretty.
The third chapter in the book helped me understand the main article by classifying the habit and the visual stimulus as responses to the brain. Smoking releases dopamine in the brain and thus it becomes a way to stimulate that good feeling you experience from dopamine. This release of dopamine can be very addictive because it generates good feelings. But, not only do you have to worry about addiction in this case, you must also worry about nicotine abuse and how it can cause hypersensitivity to dopamine stimulation. I have heard people claim that smoking reduces stress and it does this by this release of dopamine that calms the release of cortisol, the hormones that responds to stress. It also helped me understand the concept behind being able to want something without actually liking it. Someone may not like to smoke but their body wants it so they succumb.
This teaches me that the motivation behind quitting smoking has to be summoned from all areas of a person. What I mean by this is your brain misses the dopamine release, your brain is subject to seeing smoking and wanting to succumb to the habit again. So the two battles you really have to fight (the addiction of nicotine and the habit formed and reinforced) are all responses from your brain and it takes a strong orientation towards achievement to override your brains tendency to relapses in order to stay off the stuff for good.
Brain, Dopamine, Addiction, Dopamine Sensitivity, Cortisol, Wanting, Liking, Reinforcement, Achievement.

Personally, I thought it was too short. I just felt like they have left a lot of science out of why people continue to do something that they may even know is wrong. Yes, as human beings we tend to imitate what we see on TV and in movies. It has been proven with aggression so it makes sense that the same also goes with smoking. But I do think that cigarette use in these mediums had gone down significantly in the past 15-20 years.

I think they should have touched more on how the brain is wired for smoking after that someone takes the first hit off a cigarette. Like with other addictions, that brain is almost completely rewired to wanting more and more of the addiction. It wants that rush of endorphins and seeks out how to obtain it.

I found this website: http://www.uihealthcare.com/reports/publichealth/040119quit.html and I think it is a scam. ONLY because I think that if people really want to quit smoking forever they need to treat it like any other addiction. Scientists are finding out now that to truly overcome an addiction you need two things: medication and therapy. You will literally be in a battle with yourself. With medication and therapy, people with addictions were shown to be less likely to relapse then those who were just on one. I think that is why 95% of people who try to quit are not able to. They were just missing the other half they needed to re-write their brain chemistry.

Like I was saying before, addictions create chemical changes in the brain (increased dopamine). When we get this rush of pleasure, we later repeat our actions that got us that same pleasure in the first place (like James Olds’s rats).

It is very hard because you are fighting what your brain is saying it wants. Many people also lack the proper resources that could help them quite smoking for good due to expenses and convenience. It’s not easy trying to re-formulate the chemicals in your brain.

Terms list: science, addiction(s), endorphins, medication and therapy, relapse, dopamine.

This article discusses how viewing the act of smoking on television and in movies can increase a person’s vulnerability to future smoking behavior. Smoking has long been known as a harmful habit therefore showing it in popular media has been denounced, just as with related vices such as sex, drug use, and violence. This is because exposing children to actors participating in such behaviors could influence them into believing that such conduct is “cool” or condonable. However, this story takes it a step further by citing an actual physiological response to viewing smoking behavior. Watching movies in which people smoke has been shown to trigger the areas of the brain that are responsible for carrying out those physical movements, which could increase the likelihood of starting or relapsing into smoking behaviors.

Though the recent scientific findings are undeniably the most interesting part of the article for me, I also found the timing of this article personally interesting for me. You see, over the weekend I watched a film called The Insider for the first time – completely independent of this assignment. The film chronicles a dramatized version of the trials and tribulations of one Jeffrey Wigand, a one-time tobacco exec at Brown & Williamson who blew the whistle on his perjurious former employers. So it seems that I have inadvertently learned a decent amount about those tobacco CEOs and how desperate Big Tobacco was to keep smoking from being recognized as potentially addictive. Cigarettes were manufactured as a delivery device for nicotine with the premeditated intent of getting consumers hooked on the drug by taking advantage of dopamine reward pathways. These tobacco conglomerates even went as far as to enhance the addictive effects of nicotine through the use of chemical additives such as ammonia.

The concepts from Chapter 3 can help us to better understand some of the psychological mechanisms behind the content of the article. The release of dopamine generates positive feelings that can be associated with a person’s behavior. As discussed in the chapter, drugs such as nicotine can hypersensitize brain structures to dopamine stimulation. The hijacking of these neural pathways can result in addiction to the dopamine-related pleasure associated with acquiring a nicotine fix through smoking. The article shows that the pre-reward motivational state of wanting can inadvertently be induced to some degree by merely observing the physical act of smoking on television. This problem may even be further compounded by the fact that the act of watching movies or TV alone may generate their own pleasurable responses that could also have a subliminal reinforcement effect upon the viewer.

All of this has taught me that the motivation to quit any negative behavior is often more difficult than we realize. Our own body can often be our worst enemy, because we know deep down in our neurons what sorts of behaviors cause us to release pleasurable neurotransmitters. This means that we frequently must remove ourselves from exposure to any shred of the behavior – even impassively viewing it in a non-related medium. Our bodies know what they like, especially the more they have become accustomed to receiving these things. This means that to fully overcome addictions or negative behavior, we must attempt to discover a way to build up our defenses and recondition our neural pathways into finding an alternative behavior to be comparably pleasurable.

Terms: dopamine, wanting, reinforcement, addiction, motivational state

This article focuses on smoking, particularly the effects of seeing smoking in movies.
It is relatively common knowledge that smoking is addictive and a bad habit. About 20% of Americans smoke, and of those smokers nearly 50% try to kick the habit each year. However, only 5% of those smokers succeed.

Why is that the case? Well, nicotine is highly addictive, which leads to thousands of tobacco addictions. But more than that, a recent study has shown that smoking in movies can actually INCREASE an ex-smoker’s tendencies to pick up a cigarette pack. According to the article, “This new study shows that our bodies' combined response to the content of cigarette smoke and the physical act of smoking leads to changes in brain activity that can drive the urge to smoke long after [the habit is broken.]”

I found this piece very interesting. The psychological effects of smoking in movies is something I have never really thought of before, especially in regards to ex-smokers. I could definitely see the argument that smoking in movies gives a bad model for children, but it never occurred to me that it could “seem cool” for adults (in the sense that it triggers there brain to want to pick up a cigarette). I am fascinated that simply watching someone else perform that action can powerfully trigger the brain into feeling those same needs or responses.

I would like to learn more about the parts of the brain that are actually triggered in making smoking addictive, as well as why they trigger in response to watching a movie (or activating some other stimuli). I would also like to find out more if the parts of the brain that are used in controlling addiction for smoking are the same in controlling other addictions as well.

This article is a good example of how the brain is an agent for motivation, particularly in regards to pleasure, cravings, needs, etc. One of the three principles of motivation is that day-to-day activities can activate brain stimulating bio-chemical agents. In the case of smoking, watching the smoking on TV can trigger the areas of the brain that control the addictive desire to smoke. Smoking gives smokers that dopamine fix, which they learn to need more and more.

All this leads me to believe that although the desire to quit smoking may be strong, any smoker trying to quit is facing a very uphill battle versus their biochemical agents. Plus, besides just the physiological cravings involved, there are also environmental factors that play a role (in this case, seeing smoking in movies).

TERMS: Motivation, pleasure, craving, needs, bio-chemical agents, dopamine, habit

The article primarily discusses how movies can prompt a desire in people to smoke. According to this article, watching actors causes people to think that smoking is ‘cool,’ albeit some of it is subconscious. The American Heart and Lung Association has apparently been calling an end to smoking in movies for years, which is being ignored. Additionally, twenty percent of the adults in the U.S. smoke which, to me, is rather astonishing. And of those twenty percent, over half of the ones that try to quit relapse. This could be due to the stimulus caused by seeing actors in movies smoke. According to the article, seeing someone else smoke reminds someone of their past habits.
What was most interesting to me was that seeing people in movies smoke caused a desire in others to do the same. I’ve never really put much thought into it before, but when one does think about it, it makes sense. The only reasons I have ever seen why someone smoked is in relation to others who do the same. If we smoke because we see our friends or our parents do it, why not the famous celebrities who start trends in style, make us all work to look like them, and, unfortunately, serve as role models to a ridiculous amount of our society? It really does make sense, though it is rather ridiculous as to why. To learn more about this I went to the article the Psychology of Smoking at http://www.scientificpsychic.com/health/smoking-psychology.html.
This article was especially enlightening, much more so than I expected it to be. When reading it became clear that a clear majority of the reasons for people to smoke all stem from relations to other people whether it be ‘asserting your own independence,’ ‘to appear cool, sophisticated or unafraid,’ or because of the influence of people you admire such as actors, friends, family members. This I find especially interesting. If it’s so easy to pick up on the negative aspects of people smoking, why can’t people pick up on the fact that some good people don’t smoke. Granted, it does happen a few times, but not as much. One of the reasons for this is called Pavlovian reflexes. If someone sees something numerous times, it becomes a reflex. This is highlighted when people have already been smoking.
Additionally, it was extremely interesting to find that people with a damaged insula don’t have a strong desire to smoke. As discussed in the article and Chapter 3, the insula is the part of your brain in relation to emotions. If people don’t have emotions, they don’t feel the need to be included with and a part of another group of people. This was particularly eye-opening.

This online article explains just how hard it is for smokers to quit smoking, and even when they do smoke how hard it is no prevent oneself from relapse. It has been found that movies that show people smoking actually lead people to smoke themselves. This isn’t only because it looks “cool”, but also because by watching these behavioral patterns over and over the areas of the brain that control these motions are activated. This makes a person more prone to repeating those behaviors and movements. The American Lung Association and Disease Control and Prevention have agreed that movies should stop showing people smoking for a long time. These movies make kids think smoking is cool and actually lead people who quit smoking to relapse because these movies may activate brain areas that are linked to the physical habits of smoking. Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States taking about 440,000 peoples’ lives every year in the United States alone! Even though some CEOs of tobacco companies claim that tobacco isn’t addictive, most people know from research that tobacco is in fact addictive. About 20 percent of US citizens are smokers and of these, more than 50 percent try quitting each year with only a 5 percent succession rate. Even of these that do quit, 50 percent of those eventually relapse. Overall, smoking is very addictive and affects many people’s lives. Even those who want to quit have a very hard time and much more research is necessary to figure out how we can help those who truly want to quit.

I found this article to be pretty crazy. I never knew how many people actually die from smoking every year! I found it crazy to see that over 440,000 people die yearly from smoking! It was also interesting to learn that people smoking in movies not only motivates people to smoke because it is shown to be cool, but also because the areas of the brain responsible for those motions and addictions are activated and bring about relapse. I knew a lot about the addictiveness of smoking, but I never really understood how addicting it is. It’s also really crazy how little number of people actually quit smoking and how many of them eventually relapse. This article overall was quite informative.

Because smoking is so addictive and hard to stop, I was interested in learning more about different therapies or ways to stop smoking. I looked at the website listed at the bottom for some information. I found it interesting that hypnosis actually works quite well for smokers and their intentions to quit. People are put into a deep sleep where they are still fully aware of what is going on. Therapists get into the patients unconscious mind and make the person believe that smoking is not desirable. This type of treatment has almost no symptoms or side effects and the success rate is actually quite high at 60 percent!

Chapter three helps understand the reasons why movies would influence behavior to smoke and why it is so hard for a smoker to quit. Chapter three explains how certain brain structures motivate motivation which explains why movies might influence people to smoke because these parts of the brain are activated. Also biochemical agents act on brain structures. If smoking is involved, nicotine actually works on these brain structures and reinforces the person that this is a positive behavior because of the positive effects the person receives. Without these chemicals, the body gets withdrawal symptoms and the person resorts back to the chemicals. Overall, this article and chapter three have helped me better understand why and how smoking is so addictive. It’s not just the affects that the person wants, but the brain is actually programmed to beg for these wants, which in the end become needs essentially.

Brain Structures, biochemicals, needs, motivation, reinforcement, wants

http://www.stopsmoking7day.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2:best-treatment-quit-smoking&catid=2:ways-to-quit-smoking

The article starts by discussing an article from The Journal of Neuroscience that points out that activating the part of the brain linked to addiction, such as watching a movie where smoking is a common scene activates this part of the brain and triggers it to want to go through the motions of smoking. Seeing the physical action of pulling out a cigarette and putting it to your lips can trigger relapse. Prevention agencies have been calling for stop smoking initiative for years. The argument that not only does it make smoking look cool by being advertised in movies and encouraging the behavior, but that it can trigger relapse is now coming into play. Even with people having the knowledge that smoking is horrible for you and terribly addicting, people still do it. It is estimated that 2O% of adult Americans smoke. Many preventative strategies have been put into place such as: medication, nicotine replacement, cognitive behavioral therapy, and helplines. Even with all of these, relapse is still at 5O%. This helping prove the point that the article is trying to achieve that seeing the act of smoking influences one’s behavior to want to smoke.
I found it interesting that by seeing others smoke, like those in movies, can trigger your brain to want to smoke. I can understand if you are with someone and they smoke, having to smell it and see it in person, but simply seeing a movie and being triggered was extremely interesting to me.
Chapter 3 relates to this article because it discusses how pleasure is a result of dopamine. It uses the example of chocolate chips cookies baking, you’re not eating the cooking but the anticipation of eating the cookie triggers the dopamine release. Kind of like if someone were to smell cigarette smoke, it would trigger the same response if you are/were a smoker. The chapter goes on to talk about how a person’s environments impinge on your senses such as seeing specific people, they can foreshadow some sort of reward. So seeing someone smoking, even if in a movie, can trigger the release of dopamine in your brain.
I wanted to see if there were any movie companies that were for decreasing or eliminating smoking in movies. I found that Disney, Comcast, and Warner Brothers were for decreasing smoking, especially in movies that are directed at children. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/07/14/health/main20079571.shtml

This article touched on a couple different topics. First of all, it addressed the idea that people know that smoking is bad. So many people have died because of the result of smoking. Although there are several different behavioral expressions of motivation people who smoke make the choice to smoke which is defined as being presented with two or more options and showing a preference. Now why would anyone chose to engage in such a harmful act? This is answered by another topic brought up in the article. The author also suggests that smoking is considered a bad habit. In the article she mentions that only 5% of people are actually successful at quitting smoking each year out of 50% of people who try. One reason I think it is hard for people to quit is because they have biological imbalance of the nicotine they are use to so therefore they crave the cigarette even more. This concept is known as drive. The article finished up by explaining that a lot more research needs to be done to get more clear answers as to why people relapse so easily with cigarettes. I think it is important to look at physiological needs because people who are addicted to smoking are so dependent on it and it is almost a part of them.

The most interesting thing to me was the statistics on quitting. I was shocked that 50% of smokers try to quit but that only 20% are successful. There are obviously various factors and conditions that lead to 30% of the people to fail. One example could be environmental influences. Depending on how stressed out or tired someone is, it might impact the need to smoke. Also, I feel like individuals trying to quit smoking might lack intrinsic motivation because they are not doing it just to do it, they probably have a reason such as becoming healthier or receiving praise.

I wanted to do a little research about the impact of smoking on children. One article that caught my eye was on the website www.sodahead.com and it talked about the movie “Rango”. Many anti-smoking organizations and parents were very upset that this children’s movie, rated PG, depicted the main character smoking. The founder of Smoke-Free Movies claimed that children who watched this movie are two to three times more likely to pick smoking up. http://www.sodahead.com/entertainment/will-rango-cause-kids-to-start-smoking/question-1566955/ . I learned that many citizens and organizations are particularly annoyed that smoking is so glamorized in movies. My hope is that something is actually done about this because my uncle was recently diagnosed with lung cancer and the main cause was second-hand smoke (he doesn’t smoke). I think that if smoking can be prevented in any way for children, then the people in charge need to start acting.

The concepts of this chapter make me realize that smoking isn’t just a simple habit people do for the fun of it. It is so addictive that the brain actually craves it. For example, if someone is working at a very stressful job, their hypothalamus might generate arousal therefore causing someone to have less motivation while they are trying to quit smoking. The brain itself causes needs, desires and cravings. Dopamine is also important to bring up. When dopamine is released into the body by neurotransmitters it creates a positive effect. Therefore when a smoker begins thinking about their next cigarette break, they might get a release of dopamine therefore making the habit more pleasurable.

I have learned that in order to quit smoking many aspects such as environment and chemical imbalances need to be taken into account. In the past I have always been annoyed with people who smoke and think to myself “why on earth would you smoke when you know its probably going to kill you someday?” But now I can be more sympathetic. Maybe while growing up they watched a lot of movies which showed smoking and glamorized it. It is important to remember that smoking is addictive and can be very hard to quit.

Terms: Behavioral Expressions of Motivations, Choice, Addiction, Habit, Biological Imbalance, Drive, Physiological Needs, Environmental Influences, Intrinsic Motivation, Hypothalamus, Arousal, Needs, Desires, Dopamine, Neurotransmitters.

The article discusses the effects smoking in movies has on individual’s motivations to smoke. At first arguments concluded that smoking in movies would increase motivation to smoke only because it makes it look “cool”, but now studies are saying that it is not just promoting popularity because of the “cool” factor, but physiological aspects are contributing to relapses as well. Studies show that just seeing the physical act of smoking in the movie scene causes brain activity related to the habitual movements known by previous smokers, making the chances of their relapse more likely. Now this is very comparable to what we learned in chapter three, which helped be to understand this article, about brain functions and how they contribute to our motivational states, and like the chapter discussed, we are not always consciously aware of the motivational basis of our behaviors. In chapter three we learned that day-to-day events stir biochemical agents into action, and those agents stimulate specific brain structures that generate certain motivations. In this case, seeing the movie scene with the smoker is causing biochemical agents (i.e. dopamine), to stimulate certain brain structures (i.e. limbic structures- behavior, emotion) that stimulate specific behaviors (i.e. smoking a cigarette) that will be followed by perceived incentives/ rewards related to nicotine’s affects. Because there are so many smokers in the world and we know the consequences of smoking combined with the difficulty smokers experience when trying to quit, it is important to further study and understand different aspects that contribute to addiction and relapse—one of them being the effect movie scenes with smokers have on those who used to smoke. I thought some of the most interesting topics the article touched upon were simply the numbers of deaths per year attributed to smoking, and the number of smokers that attempt to quit each year. It is hard to believe that the tobacco company’s CEO’s are claiming they believe nicotine is not addictive. Womp, womp, womp… The fact that these deaths are preventable makes me wonder why directors are still showing smokers in their films, even after findings like these are showing that even though we may not be consciously aware of the motivations to smoke coming from movie scenes, they are prevalent, and they are making it more difficult to kick the habit that is proven to kill! I was interested to learn more about the prevalence of smoking in films today.
After learning how they have such an impact on smokers and their likelihood of remaining smoke-free, I wondered just how many films are actually showing scenes with smokers and what big tobacco companies are doing to promote their product in movies. After doing some research, I ended up learning about a law called the Master Settlement Agreement, which bans tobacco companies from paying producers to use cigarettes or their brand in movies, and the use of cartoons in advertising, promotion, packaging or labeling of tobacco products along with several other mandates listed here: http://ag.ca.gov/tobacco/resources/msasumm.php. However, producers do still use specific brands in their movies. Apparently 87% of top box office movies from the past several years show scenes with smokers which doesn’t surprise me when I see the numbers of people who relapse. Makes you wonder how many of those movies are contributing to those who do relapse. In previous years tobacco industries had a strong business (and possibly still do behind closed doors) with Hollywood and admitted to using celebrities in films to get people (especially teens) to start using their product and smoking.

Overall thoughts on this piece: I thought this article was very interesting and provided an argument against smoking in movies/ TV that I had never encountered before—changing my ideas of the impact movies actually have on relapses. All this information taught me that the motivation to quit smoking is one that is easily distractible especially when it comes to the movies. Motivation to relapse is much more prevalent making quitting a very difficult feat.

M_E Terms: Brain functions, motivational states, biochemical agents, dopamine, emotion, incentives, rewards, addiction.

The article very clearly identifies that smoking is in fact addictive, even though Tobacco CEO’s fail to acknowledge this, and extremely detrimental to health. With smoking as the leading cause of preventable death, it is a wonder how so many people choose to even begin smoking, and what makes it so difficult to quit. The article makes an observation that reveals shocking information, other than the general knowledge of smoking being bad. This information includes findings that people are likely to turn to smoking when certain parts of the brain are activated while witnessing smoking during movie films. There has been long term controversy whether smoking should be allowed in films. However, smoking is portrayed as looking cool and used to fulfill certain stereotypes, so it is unlikely smoking scenes will be cut from movies any time soon. The article was overall informative about smoking. I liked how the article presented its topic right from the start by asking why even bother doing research on smoking since everybody knows it’s harmful to your health. Then they identified activation in the brain (mesolimbic and visuospatial) from visual cues of smoking in movies. There were a few things I found very interesting from the article. The first one was that the CEO’s told congress they believed nicotine was not addictive. The second interesting thing I learned was smoking makes it difficult for wounds to heal, and also causes problems during surgery!
I chose to look for more information on the relation between wounds and smoking. I found an article that researched groups of smoking and non-smoking participants who received incisional wounds and monitored for 2 weeks. Only 2% of non-smokers received infections in their wounds while 12% of smoker’s wounds became infected. Smoking affects tissue oxygen which harms the healing process of the laceration or wound. This information is found in this link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1422652/
Chapter three helped me understand the article more clearly by understanding smoking as a motivational behavior. The brain is stimulated because biochemical agents stimulate and send messages through neurotransmitters that cause motivation, such as choosing to smoke. Dopamine receptors in the brain give the want factor, in smoking, because it allows the positive feelings that are associated with a smoking buzz. Smokers look for the pleasure associated with smoking, this causes the dopamine to be released. Once an addiction sets in, hypersensitivity to dopamine becomes apparent. Stimulation becomes much greater with nicotine substances than compared to natural ones.
This information teaches me that the motivation to quit smoking is a complicated and hard one to overcome. There are so many bodily and brain factors that lead smokers to continually smoke, even against better judgment. A shift in motivation to quit smoking, especially after a long period of time, will require much effort and dedication. Probably the best way to do this is through behavioral therapies. Nicotine patches and avoiding negative situations or groups, such as friends who smoke, will also increase the chances of stopping the behavior. Also, motivation must stay high when quitting, because relapse for smokers is at a high rate.
Terms: biochemical agents, neurotransmitters, dopamine, hypersensitivity.

This blog is about smoking, the reasons why it’s hard for us to quit and that modeled behavior in movies drives us to smoke. Smoking activates a part in the brain that drives our bodies movement to engage in the behavior of smoking. With this stimulation in the brain, those who are trying to quit may fall into relapse. Some are trying to rid the behavior of smoking in movies because it teaches children that smoking is ‘cool’ or acceptable. We all know the health effects of smoking, but still choose to engage in the behavior. A combination of therapies such as cognitive behavior therapy or medication to lower our brain responses are needed, but much more is also needed because of the number of people who relapse within a year. The content of the smoke and the physical act is what leads to changes in our brain activity that drive us to smoke.
I thought this was an interesting article and it brought up issues I never thought of. I think the aspect of smoking in movies is interesting because I don't think movies solely influence one's decision to smoke. I think it is the aspect of modeled behavior that motivates us to smoke. Although I agree that movies can portray smoking as acceptable, a lot of media sources portray things as socially acceptable. For example, models seen on television are very thin and many girls strive to be like this because it is what our society deems as socially acceptable. However, the commercials are still being made and not many are trying to stop this. Sure the movies reflect this behavior, but daily interactions with people and other sources of media also need to be considered.
One thing I found interesting is that "more than 50 percent try to quit smoking each year, but less than five percent of all smokers succeed.". It is important for thse who are trying to quit to remember that they need to combine multiple therapy techinques in order to be successful. Since this study shows that smoking activates the part if the brain related to addiction, medicine may also be an important thing to consider, however it should not be the only option. Many people don't like to use medicine as a solution so research should be completed to discover alternative ways to solve this issue.
I looked up other techniques to help one quit because my brother smokes. I paid him $100 to quit smoking and he did for awhile, but has relapsed. Before I offer more money, I will offer him some new techniques instead. I focused on the non drug medications. Treatment such as acuputure, hypnosis, behavioral therapy and motivational therapies such as self help books can be used. These are not readily known treatments that one thinks of when trying to quit smoking. We immediately think if nicotine gum or patches, medication or don't follow through with our commitment to quit in the first place. Another thing people struggle with is that they use smoking as a way to relieve stress, they don't think of other effective outlets such as running or boxing, etc.
in chapter three, we learned that our brain generates our cravings, needs and desires, pleasure and emotion. In the case of smoking, smokers crave the nicotine, need the nicotine to function, desire the nicotine and the pleasure it brings them. One hormone, cortisol is released when we are stressed. When this is released, one has the desire for a cigarette to relieve this stress. Motivation can also not be separated from the social context. Therefore, if one is around others who are smoking, they are more likely to be motivated to have a cigarette themselves. The aspect of media also comes into play here as well. There is also the aspect of wanting versus liking. One learns to like a cigarette because they have used it as a reward in the past, whether it be for stress relief or social engagement. They have learned they like the way it makes them feel and begin to engage in the behavior regularly and most likely will develop a habit.
This information teaches me to never pick up smoking because it will be very difficult to quit. One has to have the willpower, motivation to stay away from cigarettes, be supported by their loved ones, may have to take medication and so on and so forth. It is important that one sticks with their newly developed habits so they never relapse. I also learned that the brain can be affected which drives some people to smoke and that is an important aspect to remember when someone is trying to quit. One has to be consistently motivated by many things in order to quit smoking and to quit for good.

wanting vs liking, cortisol, motivational state

Summary: While nicotine is in fact addictive, what is even more addictive is the actual “motion” of smoking. Essentially, muscle memory, environment, and observation-imitation trigger behavioral habits more strongly than the body’s “need” for the substance of nicotine.

Having never been a smoker (but growing up with one and abhorring it my whole life), it’s easy for me to question how difficult it actually is to quit. After reading this article, which implies that it is easier for our biological systems to return to “normal”/equilibrium than it is for our minds to overcome conditioning and allow us to do so, really speaks to the saying “mind over matter.” This being said, I judge even more harshly those who try and fail to quit. If you really want to do it, then decide to do it! If you can’t/won’t, then it’s your own lack of determination – don’t blame the addictive substances, blame your failure to want it bad enough to make it happen. True, I have my own “addictions” that if I were forced to give up I would struggle to do so, but if I made a commitment to do it and was determined to succeed, I would succeed.

The only wrench to be thrown into my argument is that the patterns established are not limited to motor and cognition, but chemical as well. According to chapter three in the textbook, dopamine release is associated with events in the environment that are rewarding. If a person perceives the effects of smoking to be rewarding, dopamine will be released upon even thinking about smoking in order to encourage a response that will perpetuate the cycle. Also according to the chapter, addictive drugs produce hypersensitivity to dopamine stimulation. In essence, smokers’ brains are brainwashed.

Is it fair to say that I don’t understand the mystery implied in this article (“…we still have a long way to go before we know how to help smokers who want to quit.”)? Culturally, we are influenced to want to imitate what is considered cool (relatedness/affiliation). Cognitively and behaviorally, we experience muscle memory in forming habits. When I was a rower, we took so many thousands of strokes we didn’t have to think about the motion and we could instead focus on exertion and our connection with the water. A habitual action happens subconsciously, so we must consciously override it through focused thought if we are to form new habits – regardless of the biochemical release responses that occur.

It’s no different than learning something new – condition yourself to change and get used to a new behavior. Dedicate yourself to striving toward a goal – learn something new! Wake up and let logic and reason tell you that no habit is stronger than the knowledge that smoking can and will kill you. What other motivation do you need?

The easiest way to quit is to never start, so I looked up reasons why people start to smoke in the first place. According to addictionblog.org, being influenced by family members, peer pressure , and popular culture are three of the top ten reasons people (usually kids under the age of 18) start smoking. Smoking is often a social activity and is a “group” for one to fit into (to identify one’s self as “a smoker”). It can also alleviate social incompetence. (Why else would you randomly approach a group of people standing on a sidewalk outside a bar? Even if you have only one thing in common (smoking), you are “in.”) Other explanations include simply having the personality trait of being a risk-taker, using other drugs, pairing it with drinking, stress relief, and weight control. All of these are situations where the user is compensating for a sense of helplessness in other areas of their life by interpreting smoking as a way to feel in control.

The solution? Choose to exercise that control in more positive, healthy ways that will generate a similar response but with greater benefits. Exercise, focus your energy and attention into something productive, laugh, think about and contribute to the lives of others instead of always dwelling on your own. DO SOMETHING instead of just sitting around and polluting your own life and the lives around you!

Terms: addictive, behavioral habits, equilibrium, cognition, dopamine release, rewards, response, stimulation, imitation, relatedness, affiliation, conditioning, motivation, social competence, helplessness, control

Terms: dopamine, biochemical agents, amygdala

This article focused on how your brain reacts to seeing people smoking cigarettes in movies. When we see someone smoking a cigarette in a movie (perhaps in real life as well?), smokers brains lit up in the areas that drive body movements. The idea here is that a smoker’s body is prepped and ready to have a cigarette after seeing someone in a movie smoking, since they have made those movements many times before. It didn’t explicitly say this happened to only smokers, and it also didn’t specify if those areas lit up in relation to nicotine addiction or simply the mimicked body movement. I feel very unclear about the conclusions of this study.

Aside from that, the article also discussed other aspects of the tobacco problem, worldwide. It briefly summarized the death toll of smoking and how it compares to other forms of unnatural death. It also covered general public opinion on tobacco, its addictiveness, and the failure rates of those who attempt to quit smoking. The article was brief and interesting, but too short to draw conclusions or a real sense of purpose from. It was more of a taste of ideas about the issue of smoking tobacco.

I was interested by the fight to ban smoking in movies, since I’ve heard of this fight before. In the movie Thank You For Smoking, (which if you haven’t seen, I recommend) the activists against smoking go so far as to digitally edit out cigarettes from famous movies and photos. I couldn’t find and examples from the film, however I found an article (with pictures!) talking about people actually doing this to images such as stamps.

http://iconicphotos.wordpress.com/2011/01/09/the-case-of-missing-cigarettes/

This works with extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. Children don’t have much intrinsic motivation to smoke, but may find extrinsic motivation to smoke because they think it will make them look cool like the famous people they see in movies (and, apparently, on stamps).

The fight against tobacco and its influence on children has also taken other, bigger measures, such as outlawing flavored cigarettes back in 2009. The idea is that the flavors appeal to children and get them into the habit with nice-tasting alternatives to regular cigarettes, which they would graduate to later. The pleasurable flavors play off of our general preference for sweet flavors over any other, increasing our motivation to taste them.

Chapter 3 helped me to understand this article in that our internal physical processes can make it even harder for a smoker to quit. Aside from finding the mental willpower to quit, a smoker must also fight the release of dopamine associated with the imminent delivery of rewards, and any other biochemical agents involved. Plus, addictive substances can create a hyper-sensitivity to dopamine stimulation, which reinforces the likelihood that we will carry through with the desired behavior. Our emotional and thinking brain also set up a sequence of events that topple like dominoes after a stimulus to the arousal of motivation.

I also thought of chapter 4 where it talks about why most people fail at weight loss, including underestimating the motivational force of biology, having unrealistic standards, and failing to monitor our behavior and become distracted. All of that fits perfectly with the issues involved in quitting smoking.

These chapters really helped me understand the motivating force of biology in nicotine addiction, aside from the body’s physical cravings for nicotine. I didn’t realize that our brain could also crave to smoke because of the practiced motion of smoking. It would seem an addictive substance affects us in so many other ways than just the desire for the affecting agent.

Intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, dopamine release, biochemical agents, emotional brain, thinking brain, addiction, hypersensitivity.

So the article talks about addiction. It specifically discusses addiction to tobacco and how smoking in movies causes activation of brain areas related to addiction as well as activating areas related to the movements smokers make when puffing on a cigarette. The article states those facts and then goes into detail about smoking in general; how many deaths it causes, long term effects on health, how many failed quitters there are, and more general smoking facts. I thought it was pretty obvious that seeing someone smoking in a movie would make you want to smoke ESPECIALLY if you are an ex-smoker. If an ex-alcoholic goes into a theatre and one of his favorite actors is drinking and having a good time OF COURSE he’s going to want to drink. If a ex-heroin addict sees someone shooting up in a film OF COURSE they’re going to have memories of the good times and feel a little pull to shoot up again.
I was surprised and kind of discouraged to learn that less than 5% of people who try to quit smoking actually succeed. There are plenty of ways to try to stop but generally the people who smoke do not have a very positive outlook on life and have a low sense of control. Instead of believing they can quit they think it’s just impossible. If you have a pessimistic outlook on life in general you will not want to make all the effort that quitting takes. You have to actually LOOK UP THE NUMBER and then GET THE PHONE then CALL THE QUITLINE. Then you have to SIT THERE ON THE PHONE and probably receive what some people deem “preaching” and then hang up the phone, feel guilty about being a smoker, pick up a cigarette and smoke the pain away. I can almost guarantee the smokers who quit are not pathological smokers and don’t have the same kind of psychological issues that I would imagine the majority of smokers have.
After reading this article I came up with the hypothesis that the majority of pathological smokers have psychological issues like depression and it is for this reason that it is hard for them to quit. I have a lot to do in all my classes so I didn’t look up all that I could and really delve into this issue but I surfed the web and found this article. http://psychcentral.com/library/depression_smoking.htm. I learned a few things but I will put in a few quotes that sum up the main points that I got out of it. “Individuals with underlying or current depressive symptoms are more likely to experience mood disturbances when they attempt to quit. Furthermore, it appears that smoking may mask an underlying depression in some smokers.” “…there may be something in cigarette smoke that has antidepressant properties, which explains why cigarette smoking is much more common among depressed patients.” “…lifetime frequency of major depression was more common among smokers than nonsmokers (6.6 vs. 2.9 percent) This study also demonstrated that smokers who reported at least one episode of major depression were less likely to succeed in smoking cessation programs than smokers without depression (14 vs. 28 percent).” This article confirmed my hypothesis to an extent and makes me kind of depressed about why cigarettes are so popular and so advertised.
Smoking is an act that attempts to satisfy many physiological and psychological needs. Not only does the body feel a need for nicotine but it also feels a need for the dopamine that is released when nicotine is introduced. When nicotine enters the picture, it sensitizes brain structures to dopamine release more so than normal. The book describes some drugs that are designed to take the dopamine related pleasure out of smoking but a lot of the time the “liking” goes away but the “wanting” sticks around. Smoking is also used as a way to make friends in social situations, used as a way to validate one’s self especially if a role model smokes, and maybe used to numb some of the anxiety and/or depression some individuals feel. Smoking is very much a biological habit as the chemicals cause brain structures to react in a way that releases more chemicals influencing motivation but I believe it to be just as much a psychological habit. If someone who smokes were to go out in the woods and get lost for months, I would imagine their drive to smoke when they get back would be significantly less.
Terms:
Brain Structures Motivation Sense of Control Psychological Needs Dopamine Wanting Pessimistic Outlook Social Needs Addiction Liking Physiological needs

People claim with enough willpower smokers should be able to quit but the numbers say otherwise. An astounding number of people who try or even succeed in quitting simply fall back into the habit within a year. Even watching someone in a movie or television show smoking can trigger the thoughts of smoking and make quitting very hard. With so many people trying to quit, why is it so difficult and why is there not more help? Popularizing smoking and showing it in mass media is thought to increase the likelihood of children and teens picking up the habit. Those people attempting to quit are also being adversely affected as seeing a scene of someone smoking activates brain signals of cravings, even for ex-smokers who have effectively kicked the habit. Simply wanting to quit and having help is rarely enough to give up smoking for good and there hasn’t been a definite answer as to why that is yet.
I find this piece very interesting. It gives staggering numbers associated with deaths and rate of quitting/attempts making it easy to see how prevalent this issue is. If even seeing someone smoking on t.v. is enough to trigger craving, and there are so many people dying every year from tobacco related causes, I wonder why there isn’t more research being done. The part I found most interesting would be the issue with simply seeing smoking on television triggering a feeling akin to that of craving even after quitting. And there are a lot of Mad Men references with this subject! (which is not surprising, I watch it myself and am still impressed by how much smoking goes on)
I found another article about the same study that goes more in depth on the activation of the brain and the methods section of the study. They used a movie that honed in on smoking alone without sex, alcohol, other drugs, or violence to increase validity. The activation in the brains of the smokers who watched the movie was in the area that controlled hand movements involved with smoking, such as holding and raising a cigarette to one’s mouth. Their brain connected seeing the smoking and planning out the body itself doing that same action. People who watched the movie that had not been smokers did not have that same brain activation. In another study, researchers set up 24 video clips, each 30 seconds long, and had smokers watch them. The subjects’ blood pressure rose in response to the 12 smoking clips in comparison to the 12 ordinary task videos. They also had higher body temperature and galvanic skin response as well as self-response craving upon viewing smoking clips. Oddly enough, the effect was more evident in male smokers than in female smokers.
Seeing the smoking on screen would induce goal-directed approach behavior in the body’s attempt to satisfy the wanting by activating the brain areas involved in motor functions involved in smoking. The body still has wanting, the unsatisfied feeling before dopamine reward occurs, even if the person has been an ex-smoker and no longer has liking for the behavior. Simply seeing the smoking occur acts as a natural stimulator, an environmental/social cue that induces motivational processes. Also, addiction (or former addiction) leads to hypersensitivity of the brain structures involved in the reward pathway and dopamine release for that specific action. The three principles talked about in chapter three are also very highly involved in this example. The environmental event, the day to day occurrence, would lead to biochemical agents being activated. Viewing smoking would lead to activation of dopamine and the reward pathways. With that biochemical agent at work, it would stimulate specific brain structures involved in the addiction process. With those brain structures stimulated, they would induce a specific motivated state such as the craving in this case, the desire or attempted action to smoke. In order to quit smoking, your entire reward system would have to be retrained. The pleasure one would feel from smoking is much more intense than any other form of dopamine release and that needs to be disassociated with smoking behavior. When the addict’s brain has changed due to the process it takes between neurotransmitters and specific brain structures, it can be very difficult to break that connection and become an ex-smoker.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/smoking-on-tv-and-film-lights-up-cravings-in-smokers-2191384.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2078201/

Terms: goal directed approach behavior, wanting, dopamine, liking, natural stimulator

This article discusses how smoking in the movies increases the chances of people mimicking the same action. The article states that smoking in the movies increases the chance that ex smoker viewers will go back to their bad habit of smoking. It also states that young people will be encouraged to start the bad habit. I agree with many of the statements made in this article. First of all I believe that smoking is a bad habit and that it activates different brain areas that are connected to addiction. I also agree with the statement that smoking in movies increases the chance of people relapsing and also starting up the habit of smoking. However, I am not sure if it is possible to change the fact that characters in movies smoke. The most interesting thing to me is the fact that this topic is being discussed. I have always felt that things such as smoking should not be in the media due to the influences it can have on young people. However, I did not know that actual articles have been written on this topic supporting the idea of taking smoking out of movies. The thing I would like to learn more about from the article is the 1994 case where the tobacco companies stated that nicotine is not addictive. I learned more about this topic from reading the article titled “Hearing on the Regulation of Tobacco Products House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health and the Environment” I was not aware of this hearing. By reading this article I learned that each day 3,000 kids start smoking. This fact and also the fact of how many Americans die due to smoking, is why this topic was brought to congress. This article shows the dialogue of the executives at the tobacco company. I am shocked to see that these leaders in the tobacco company would deny the fact that nicotine is addictive. In my opinion, they are denying this just due to greed and the fact of making a profit.
Chapter 3 discusses how the brain works when there is a need. Through this chapter I can connect different topics to the need to spoke. Dopamine is released in the brain when there is a need to have cigarette. Dopamine releases hormones that create good moods. This is what makes the nicotine addictive, the good moods that follow having a smoke. This goes back to the fact of how shocked I am that the executives can claim that nicotine is not addictive.

http://senate.ucsf.edu/tobacco/executives1994congress.html

Dopamine, addiction

This article discusses the addiction to smoking and what types of things trigger that addiction and drive us to smoke. There is a new study published in The Journal of Neuroscience that shows that watching people smoke in movies both activated brain areas linked to addiction and activates brain areas that drive the body movements of smokers to actually smoke a cigarette. We see people actual reach for a cigarette and move it to their mouth so much that watching this in movies makes those areas of the brain responsible for that movement active. Not only can smoking in movies motivate kids to start smoking, but this research suggests that it may lead ex-smokers to relapse.

I have always known that seeing others smoke has an impact on wanting to smoke. I have known plenty of smokers in my life, my dad and boyfriend included. Often times when my boyfriend and I walk by someone who is smoking or see someone outside smoking, he will say how bad he wants a cigarette. He quit smoking 2.5 years ago and it still has the same affect. I thought that this article was very interesting because I never really realized that the reason behind those urges was because our brains get activated in the areas that are responsible for the physical movement of smoking. I always figured when we walked past someone it was due to smelling the smoke, which part of it probably is, but it makes a lot of sense that it has to do with the physical addiction of moving certain ways. I think this is especially important if the person in the movie/TV that is smoking is an actor that you like and relate to. I think that the attempt to cut smoking in movies and TV is really interesting and is something that I looked up a bit.

I found an article talking about how China has actually ordered makers of film and TV shows to limit the amount of smoking depicted. According to the article, China has the largest number of smokers in the world, so it only makes sense that the change would start there. It is ordered that producers must minimize plot lines and scenes involving tobacco and can only show smoking when it is necessary for artistic purposes or character development. One thing that I found really interesting is that they have outlawed minors under the age of 18 to be shown smoking or buying cigarettes. They also made it so they cannot be shown smoking in public buildings or other places where smoking is prohibited.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/15/china-limits-smoking-in-m_n_823329.html
I think this is interesting that they are actually taking the steps to hopefully help people stop smoking or prevent kids from smoking. I do think that it is great that they will not allow minors to be shown buying cigarettes or smoking. This was probably a big factor in kids starting. Understanding how watching someone smokes affects our brain and motivation is a huge component and passing bans such as these. For once, I think China got it right.

I think chapter 3 really helps me to understand this article. Day-to-day events, such as seeing someone smoke, stirs biochemical agents into action, which then stimulate our brain areas. Understanding this part helps understand how watching someone smoke creates certain biochemicals that stimulate the part of the brain associated with the physical movement of the addiction to smoking. Having those areas activated then creates specific motivations to smoke. This is the first basic principle of chapter 3 and is the most helpful in a broad sense. Another part that helps is the release of neurotransmitters associated with certain behaviors. Smoking is associated with certain neurotransmitters, like dopamine, that are released when the behavior is emitted. Those neurotransmitters, which are the same as the ones that relieve stress and anxiety, are associated with smoking. When we see someone smoke, it acts as an incentive. The neurotransmitter is released, and our brain knows that smoking is something that further releases it. Thus when we watch someone smoke, our brain says “if we do that, we’ll feel good”. It is rewarding to us. At least that is what chapter 3 makes me think in association with this article.

I think it teaches us that quitting smoking is hard and in order to successfully do it, we must be very motivated. We also must try to avoid watching people smoke or situations where our brains may be activated to smoke. I personally know how this is. I think it teaches us also that we must be knowledgeable about all the possible setbacks and things that will make us want to smoke again. Being more knowledgeable will allow us to say no to the urges, even when they are strong. It will also help us to understand why we may not be doing as well as we want and help others to understand that we may have the motivation, but that it really is much more difficult and relapse is a part of the process.

Terms used: drive, motivation, biochemical agents, biochemicals, neurotransmitters, dopamine, incentive, rewarding

This article is about a new research study that correlates watching movies with smoking and activity levels in the areas of the brain associated with smoking. If ex smokers or people who are trying to quite smoking watch movies with smoking, a certain area of the brain that deals with the actual action of lighting a cigarette and putting it up to your mouth will have a higher level of activity. This being said it would be easier for someone to relapse smoking after watching a movie with the act of smoking in it. So not only is the nicotine addictive but the act of smoking is really a bad habit. I was really surprised by this study because I thought it was merely just chemicals in your body reacting to the levels of nicotine and chemicals that you get from smoking cigarettes. I also thought it was interesting that children that are allowed to watch these movies are more likely to pick up smoking. It makes sense just because movies put smoking in a good light making the smoker look cool while doing it. I agree that smoking should be banned from movies because I don’t think it really serves a purpose besides to show someone doing it. I looked into it further and found an article from abc news that looks at both sides of the issue. There is an estimated 390,000 kids who are affected by smoking in movies and they predicted that making movies with smoking rated R would decrease these numbers by 200,000. In opposition, they said that there are many other outlets of the media that have smoking and that influence children. Another main point was that there are many other factors in children’s lives that would affect if they picked up smoking or not.
Smoking causes a release of dopamine in the brain that generates positive feelings. Cigarettes produce a hypersensitivity to dopamine stimulation so that while smoking a cigarette a larger amount of dopamine is released in the brain than normal stimulants like food. The book also discusses likes and wants. Wants are a motivational state that occurs before you actually receive the reward while likes are a motivational state that occurs after the reward. These two states for the most part go hand in hand. There for the lack of dopamine in your brain triggers your craving for the cigarette and causes you to “want” it. When you satisfy your craving by smoking a cigarette a large amount of dopamine is released and you feel happier and more relaxed. Afterwards you “like” the cigarette because of how it makes you feel.

Likes and wants, dopamine
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/QuitToLive/smoking-movies-influence-kids/story?id=14367917

The article discussed how smoking in movies can actually contribute to an ex-smoker relapsing. According to the study conducted, when an ex-smoker watches a movie that has an actor smoking, certain parts of the brain are activated that trigger the body movements of smoking.
Being a smoker for the past 10 years, I know exactly what they are talking about. Just last year, I worked very hard at trying to quit the "habit" only to fail at it a few months later. Just about anything could trigger a craving for me. Whether it be the smell of someone smoking, the timing of the day, doing certain activities (like eating a meal or driving in my car because I would always have a cigarette during or after it), or even the simple act of putting my hand to my mouth.
While trying to quit, one of the suggestions my doctor made to me was before I actually quit, I should start changing up my routine because part of the addiction is that my brain had been accustomed to certain behavioral habits. Instead of carrying my cigarettes in my right pocket, I switched it to my left pocket. Rather than smoking after I had a meal, I smoked before I had a meal. Even though these small little changes seem really benign or insignificant, they did throw me off. Try it for yourself sometime, take a simply normal routine and change it up a bit and see how weird it feels.
I found this article very interesting and wanted to find out more about the study they conducted and other studies that were similar to it. I found that the study included 17 smokers and 17 non-smokers. They made them watch the first 30 minutes of the movie "Matchstick Men" while they were hooked up to a fMRI. What the study found was that there was "greater brain activity in a part of the parietal lobe called the intraparietal sulcus, as well as other areas involved in the perception and coordination of actions" (http://www.sfn.org/index.aspx?pagename=news_011811).
In addition to the previous study, I also found another article from the same journal about a study that was conducted on mice that eliminated a certain protein which blocked the anxiety-reducing effects and reward that nicotine has. The study found that nicotine works by binding to protein called nicotine receptors in the ventral tegmental area. From Chapter 3 of our text, we learned that the ventral tegmental area (VTA) is connected with the medial forebrain bundle which is associated with pleasure and reinforcement. The VTA is also responsible for releasing dopamine into other brain sites which reinforces a person to seek out a certain behavior over another because of the rewards and pleasure they gain or expect to gain from it. As this relates to smoking, people reach for a cigarette because they have learned over time that the nicotine helps them to reduce anxiety and generate pleasurable feelings through the release of dopamine from the VTA.
The study found that a specific alpha4 receptor located on dopamine brain cells were responsible for the reward feeling associated with smoking. They made this discovery by developing mice who had a mutation that left them unable to produce the alpha4 receptors but only on the dopamine brain cells. What they found was that the mice with the mutation spent less time seeking out a nicotine reward than normal mice. They also found that nicotine failed to reduce anxiety-like behaviors in the mutated mice than in normal the mice (http://www.sfn.org/index.aspx?pagename=news_072711).
After reading all the information and from my own personal experience, quitting smoking is one of the hardest things to do. Obviously, there is a chemical reaction going on within the brain structures that are inhibiting a person's desire and motivation to quit smoking. Because of the changes within the brain, it becomes increasing difficult to ignore the cravings for a cigarette as it would be difficult to ignore a craving for food or water. The difference between the two is that with the right behavioral, cognitive, and nicotine-replacement therapies, and the avoidance of not only people but movies that show smoking scenes, you can eventually overcome nicotine addiction. At least, I'm still hopeful about it.