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Evidence that the tobacco companies knew of the importance of nicotine to smokers 50 <br />years ago: <br />— ‘Nicotine is addictive. We are, then, in the business of selling nicotine, an addictive drug <br />effective in the release of stress mechanisms.’ 17 July 1963, Brown & Williamson general <br />counsel/vice president Addison Yeaman. <br />— ‘It is my conviction that nicotine … both helps the body to resist external stress and also <br />can as a result show a pronounced tranquillising effect. … under modern conditions of life <br />people find that they cannot depend just on their subconscious reactions to meet the various <br />environmental strains with which they are confronted. … smoking has considerable <br />psychological advantages and a built-in control against excessive absorption. It is almost <br />impossible to take an overdose of nicotine in the way it is only too easy to do with sleeping <br />pills.’ 29 May 1962, BAT memo ‘The Smoking and Health Problem’ <br />Derek Yach is executive director of the Vitality Institute and previously headed tobacco <br />control at the WHO. <br />This article first appeared in the print edition of The Spectator magazine, dated 21 February <br />2015 <br />Tags: February 2015 <br />74Tweet <br />879 Share 431KShare <br />Kindle <br />