syr.jpgIf cigarettes were made without nicotine in its natural form or added to make them more addictive, few people would smoke them, says Prof. Peter Hajek, a clinical psychologist in London who specializes in treating and researching tobacco dependence.

Hajek, here on his third visit to participate in a Kfar Hamaccabiah conference on smoking prevention and cessation organized by the Israel Cancer Association and other groups, told The Jerusalem Post in an interview on Thursday that nicotine itself is “relatively harmless. It is the tar, numerous carcinogens and other rubbish in smoke that cause such great damage to health. Except for pregnant women, whose fetuses can be harmed by nicotine, cigarettes are like injecting a relatively safe drug into yourself with a dirty syringe.”

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