There is little doubt that many habitual smokers find it difficult to
quit the habit because they have become addicted to the nicotine prese
nt in the smoke. This paper addresses some of the pharmacological mech
anisms underlying this addiction and discusses how an understanding of
these mechanisms may contribute to the more effective use of nicotine
replacement therapy during smoking cessation. It considers critically
the evidence that the ''rewarding'' properties of nicotine, which ser
ve to reinforce drug-seeking behaviour, are related to stimulation of
the mesolimbic dopamine system of the brain. The critique focuses spec
ifically on the evidence that many central nicotinic receptors, includ
ing those which mediate the effects of the drug on dopamine secretion,
are readily desensitized by chronic exposure to agonist and that hypo
theses which assume that nicotine inhaled from tobacco smoke invariabl
y results in stimulation of the receptors must be treated with caution
. Nicotinic receptors in the brain are, however, heterogeneous in natu
re with different molecular structures and pharmacologies. It is concl
uded that the reinforcing properties of nicotine sought by smokers may
reflect both stimulation and desensitization of the different nicotin
ic receptor populations, and that smokers may adjust their smoking hab
its to achieve the balance of receptor stimulation and desensitization
which they find most reinforcing. It seems likely that the efficacy o
f the different nicotine formulations during the treatment of smoking
cessation may also reflect their ability to stimulate or desensitize b
rain nicotinic receptors.