Coffee and Cigarettes: New Study Reveals an Unexpected Connection

Some smokers discover that going without a cup of coffee makes their first cigarette of the day less enjoyable. But it's possible that this is not only a morning habit. Researchers from the University of Florida claim that substances found in roasted coffee beans may help lower the severity of morning cravings for nicotine. In a cell-based investigation, scientists discovered two components in coffee that have a direct impact on specific high-sensitivity nicotine receptors in the brain. After a night of nicotine withdrawal, these brain receptors in smokers can become hypersensitive. According to Roger L. Papke, Ph.D., a professor of pharmacology at the University of Florida College of Medicine, the recently published findings represent a significant advancement in our knowledge of how nicotine receptors in the brain are impacted by coffee and cigarettes, even though they have not yet been tested on humans. Caffeine is the part in coffee that makes most people feel happy, however sm...