Word: smokerings
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...panic of a heavy smoker bereft of cigarettes speaks alarmingly of a physiological force at work that is more powerful than mere desire. Not long after taking up the habit, smokers become tolerant of nicotine's effects; as with heroin and cocaine, dependence quickly follows. Tobacco only seems safer because it is not immediately dangerous. Nicotine is not likely, for example, to fatally overstimulate a healthy heart, cause disorienting hallucinations or pack anywhere near the same euphoric punch as many other drugs. "People die with crack immediately," explains Alexander Glassman, a psychopharmacologist at the New York State Psychiatric Institute...
...Once there, it mimics some of the actions of adrenaline, a hormone, and acetylcholine, a powerful neurotransmitter that touches off the brain's alarm system, among other things. After a few puffs, the level of nicotine in the blood skyrockets, the heart beats faster and blood pressure increases. Result: smokers become more alert and may actually even think faster. In addition, nicotine may produce a calming effect by triggering the release of natural opiates called beta-endorphins. Thus a smoker literally commands two states of mind -- alertness and relaxation...
Some people really do want to go up in smoke. So believes a group of Dallas businessmen that aims to start an airline exclusively for puffers. The Great American Smoker's Club plans to take off April 22, the day when a new Government ban on smoking during any flight shorter than two hours takes effect. The carrier intends to circumvent the rule by organizing as a private charter service and charging $10 for membership (family rate: $20). Entrepreneur Kay Cohlmia, 53, and Colleagues Glenn Herndon, 47, and Daniel Cuozzo, 43, smokers all, plan 14 round-trip commuter flights...
...company's policy often reflects its top executive's personal attitude toward smoking. Says Cynthia Ferguson, acting executive director of the American Lung Association: "We see this very clearly. Management support means everything." Ted Phillips, chairman of the New England, a Boston-based insurance company, is an ex-smoker who strongly believes smoking on the job should be limited to private offices in order to safeguard the health of all workers. That is precisely the policy of his firm. At Frosty Acres Brands, a Georgia canned-goods packager, a smoking ban is unlikely because President Louis Dell smokes almost...
...matter how well intentioned their bosses may be, many smokers feel persecuted by their firms' antismoking policies. "Just call me Sneaky Pete," says a salesman of novelty items who would face being fired if his smoking habit was discovered. Says he: "It's incredibly unfair. I was a smoker when they hired me, and then, out of the blue, I'm supposed to stop just because the boss says so." Some employees fear their chances for advancement may be choked off by their smoking habit, though favoritism toward nonsmokers is rarely explicit. Len Beil, director of human resources at Pacific...