But research indicates that two drugs commonly prescribed to treat ADHD, Methylphenidate (Ritalin) and d-amphetamine (Dexedrine), may increase the rate of cigarette smoking. A study done at the University of Kentucky found that use of Methylphenidate increased the total number of cigarettes smoked, number of puffs, and carbon monoxide levels.
Comment: This may well be due to the need to balance the brain chemistry. Persons who smoke may experience mild impairment of cognitive abilities if they stop smoking. This worsening is because nicotine acts as an agonist (it mimics) receptors of acetylcholine which is important for learning and memory, and cognitive functions. Daily infusions of nicotine actually increase the number of acetylcholine receptors by up to 40%. Nicotinic receptors in the central nervous system are associated with neuronal plasticity and cell survival. The molecular link between the brain and the immune system in an anti-inflammatory pathway - the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway - is a receptor for nicotine (the nicotinic receptor subunit alpha 7). That is, nicotine attenuates inflammatory molecules.
There is an effective alternative to drug therapy: Nutrition.
A body of scientific research supports the importance of nutritional factors in ADHD. I have treated hundreds of children with ADHD over the past thirty years. Almost all have improved without the need for drug therapy. To help them and their parents I have used a series of questions that searches for the causes of ADHD in each individual child.
Pharmacists being asked by parents about alternatives to Ritalin can use these questions as a guide:
(1) How nutritious is the child's diet?
Over 50% of children with ADHD crave sweets, often at the expense of nutritious food. About 70 percent of children who crave sweets have much more control over their behavior when their food is low in added sugar. My first line of advice to parents is, keep your children away from sugary cereals, pancakes or waffle's with syrup, soft drinks, candy, cakes, cookies, doughnuts, ice cream, frozen yogurt, and chocolate. Every ounce of sugar reduction helps. Sugar alone does not cause hyperactivity. It reduces the nutritional quality of the diet and may aggravate other food intolerances (see below).
Comment: To learn more about the plague of plastic contaminating the world's oceans read the following articles:
What is the Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch?
Pacific Ocean garbage patch worries researchers
Plastic trash vortex menaces Pacific sealife: study
The world's rubbish dump: a garbage pit that stretches from Hawaii to Japan
New garbage patch discovered in Indian Ocean
Huge Garbage Patch Found in Atlantic Too