Drug use and addiction: evolutionary perspective.

Drug use creates a significant amount of harm in modern societies. From an evolutionary perspective, the pervasive use of drugs and the ongoing risk of drug addiction can be explained in terms of the action of drugs on evolved motivational-emotional systems. Addiction arises through interaction of these evolutionarily ancient systems, designed to promote the pursuit of natural rewards, and contemporary environments where purified and potent forms of drugs are readily available.

Effects of exposure of youths at risk for smoking to television advertising for nicotine replacement therapy and Zyban: an experimental study.

Television advertising for nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and Zyban exposes the entire population, including adolescents, to persuasive messages about these smoking-cessation products. There is a risk that adolescents exposed to the advertising might underestimate addictiveness or perceive an unintended message that it is easy to quit smoking. This is of concern because optimism about quitting is a major predictor of trial and progression to heavier smoking among youths.

Media advocacy and newspaper coverage of tobacco issues: a comparative analysis of 1 year's print news in the United States and Australia.

Tobacco control advocates now recognize the value of influencing news coverage of tobacco; news coverage influences attitudes and behavior as well as policy progression. It is, however, difficult to assess the progress of such efforts within a single national and temporal context. Our data represent the first systematic international comparison of press coverage of tobacco issues.