Chapter 108

If you remember the ‘70’s, tobacco companies were under fire by those claiming that cigarette smoking was addictive and damaging to our health. They were defending themselves as best they could from these charges.

While this was happening, an animal behaviorist wanted to remove the human factor, thus removing much of the emotional component, from examination of the issue. He planned and designed a research program to study the effect of cigarette smoke on laboratory rats. He began by subjecting rats to repeated doses of smoke, with control subjects having no exposure, and others having a series of different intensities ranging from 1 pack a day to 4 packs a day. After several months, the rats were placed in a confined space with neither food or water, and had to traverse a tube with dense smoke to get out. He timed how long it took for the various rats to enter the escape tube. What was immediately apparent was that the control group hesitated and resisted entering the tube, while those getting the highest dosage were eager to enter the smoke.

Clearly, the rats had become comfortable with the smoke.

He then set up chambers where the rats had to choose a food chamber or a smoke chamber. He stopped dosing for a day and placed the rats in the test area. Without exception, the rats of all dosages entered the smoke chamber rather than the food chamber while the control subjects entered the food chamber.

He had proven addiction to the smoke.

Examination of high dosage long exposure subjects showed adverse effects in the hearts and lungs, while no such effects showed in the control rats.

Finally, he wanted to examine the ability to cure the rats’ addiction. He set up a chamber wherein a rat could press a door and receive a dose of smoke, and cut off other smoke sources. The rats dosed themselves, over and over, with the smoke. He then applied a mild electric charge to the door so a rat pushing the door to get a dose of smoke would simultaneously receive a painful but not damaging electric shock.

Within a week, the subject rats were no longer pressing the door. All examination showed that they now connected smoke with a painful experience, and they exhibited no more addictive behavior.

The animal behaviorist received great public recognition of his almost magical result for being the first person to succeed in pulling a habit out of a rat.