|
Black, White Teens Show Differences in Nicotine Metabolism
Right
Click to Download MP3 File
Brief Description:
New research by scientists with the National Institute on Drug Abuse suggests that some of the racial and ethnic differences underlying how adults' bodies metabolize nicotine also are at work during adolescence.
Transcript:
Schmalfeldt: New research by scientists with the National Institute on Drug Abuse suggests that some of the racial and ethnic differences underlying how adults' bodies metabolize nicotine also are at work during adolescence. Doctor Nora Volkow, Director of NIDA, discusses the implications.
Volkow: One of the implications of this finding is that this could provide us an explanation about why we're seeing much lower levels of cigarette smoking in African American teens than we see in Caucasians, for example, or in Hispanic groups.
Schmalfeldt:Earlier research showed that black smokers take in 30 percent more nicotine per cigarette and take longer to rid their bodies of the drug when compared to white smokers. Doctor Volkow said the findings also have implications for the way teens of differing racial and ethnic backgrounds are provided smoking cessation treatments. The study was published in the January 2006 issue of Ethnicity and Disease. From the National Institutes of Health, I'm Bill Schmalfeldt in Bethesda, Maryland.
|
