10 July 2006

Mad Science (or Perhaps Downright Insane Science)

Etorphine is a relative of Morphine but thousands of times more potent. First synthesised in 1963 it is best known as “Elephant Juice” the drug that can drop a rampaging elephant in a second. The Molecule of the Month website (yes it does exist!) includes this sentence “Scientists at BAT (British American Tobacco) once debated adding it to tobacco as it might create an addictive craving for it”

Etorphine in cigarettes? This must be a joke I thought and I kept on thinking it until I came across this 2003 article from the BMJ journal Tobacco Control Online :

“Working in tobacco control, it is easy to get the impression that the tobacco industry is a united front, with all parties avoiding divisions that might undermine the greater struggle against the "antis". However, tobacco industry documents that have been made public as a result of litigation in the USA reveal ruthless competition as well as intense suspicion about competitors’ activities. This was brought home to us recently when reading a 1977 document on "developments in the scientific field" by Dr Sydney J Green, then British American Tobacco’s (BAT’s) senior scientist for research and development. Green informed his readers about"way-out" developments at BAT including :

"A way-out development is that of compounds (such as etorphine) which are 10,000 times as effective as analgesics [such] as morphine and which are very addictive. It is theoretically possible (if politically unthinkable) to add analytically undetectable quantities of such materials to cigarettes to create brand allegiance. But this thought may suggest the possibility of such compounds occurring naturally."

Green’s report followed an earlier memo from Keith D Kilburn to CI Ayres, expressing concern about what BAT’s competitors might be doing in order to create brand allegiance. Kilburn proposed that a regular etorphine dose of as little as 0.2 microgram per day would be sufficient to create an addictive craving for the source. He also claimed that the required delivery per cigarette…would be analytically difficult to measure.

Etorphine is a powerful drug with heroin-like effects, which include respiratory failure in the case of overdose. The dangers of etorphine to humans have been dramatically demonstrated in accidents during veterinary use, as there have been fatal overdoses to veterinarians attempting to dart large unruly animals. As a consequence of these fatalities, veterinarians who are registered to use etorphine must now have an assistant standing by with a dose of an etorphine antagonist in hand.

Very low concentrations of certain psychoactive substances may be sufficient to produce important effects, including addiction. Fortunately, etorphine has become much more readily detectable in recent years than Green and Kilburn suggested was the case in 1977, because forensic toxicologists have put considerable effort into developing highly sensitive detection methods. However, in a world market with minimal regulation of cigarette additives and limited testing capacity outside the industry’s own laboratories, we should remain concerned about what the tobacco industry might be willing to do in order to create "brand allegiance".


I suppose one should never be surprised at such ideas but to consider using Elephant juice to increase brand addiction, even as a wild idea, was sheer and utter madness!It is just as well they never implemented the plan. On the other hand one would probably go down well with a Heroin Cola and an Opium club sandwich…..




12 comments:

Agnes said...

Don't make our fellow-bloggers milk elephants or collect their urine (that of the elephants. I feel an urge....

jams o donnell said...

Worse still can you imagine the size of the blender?

MC Fanon said...

Wow! That's horrible! Smoking has never been something I've even been tempted to try, simply because it's ridiculously gross to begin with. But to think it's really that addictive. Imagine how hard it is to quit smoking now, when a user has to get off not only nicotine but also etorphine!

Another instance of corporate corruption; adding addictive substances that are potentially harmful to drive a profit. I hope those involved go straight to the wall for this. My grandmother died from cigarettes, smoking right through heart failure and strokes. They're awful.

-Comrade Dave
http://theredmantis.blogspot.com/

littlebitofsonshine said...

And to think many are now paying over $5.00 a pack for cigarettes.most of it is for taxs makes ya wonder .But thats here in the usa i dont know around the world.But i do love them dedi,s from india and the clove cigarettes too. Great points and writing just wow

jams o donnell said...

It was a lunatic idea Dave. Lucky for us they never implemented it. God only knows what did go ahead though!

The cost here is arund $8-9 a pack. Just glad I quit Sonshine!

Agnes said...

Maybe they could make spinach addictive: in that case I would eat it. Not a bad idea after all, using it with horrifying lettuce and spinach

elasticwaistbandlady said...

What redwine? The ringing endorsement from the spinach industry's spokesman, Popeye isn't enough for you? He says that he's strong to the finish, cuz he eats his spinach. I, for one, live by the philosophies of Popeye.

I enjoyed Al Gore getting squirmy and admitting that although his tobacco growing family knew the medical detriments, they continued selling and profiting from it. They only stopped when his sister died of, surprise, surprise, LUNG CANCER. That shows the mentality of the industry, they only seem to use their conscience when it personally affects them.

Thanks, jam, for this informative piece. I'm glad you stopped smoking too. Just think of your yearly savings. My Dad financed a Mediterranean cruise with his wife just from cutting cigarettes and saving the money he would have spent.

Agnes said...

Elasticwaistbandlady, I remember Popeye: Mother tried to convince me with Popeye, so what I hated most after spinach was poor Popeye (but I loved Olive on the other hand)

Mullet, I agree about having horrible habits: I don't agree with praising them or our apathy or lack of willpower to change it. AT least I blame my own self, and would stop others from perpetuating it. And yes, smoking can be lethal: and we'd better shut up when it comes to that, because we are no less afraid just way weaker. A more liberal attitude shouldn't mean the right to infest others with substances _we_ are addicted to.

jams o donnell said...

Hmm I am not sure there is anything that would make cooked spinach appealing. Baby leaves in salads are fine but ack, not the cooked stuff!

Hmm elasticwaistbandlady, isn't it strange they changed ther ways then? Perhaps it took a tragedy close to home to make them realise what damage their products were and are doing.

I am not crowing about packing in the fags. It was not easy but worth doing. Even now I still yearn for a smoke... until I actually smell one!

One thing I never became waswon't be though is a rabid anti smoking evangelist. Seeing them from a smoker's perspective all they do is irritate.

elasticwaistbandlady said...

Everybody has their vices, jams. Make mine a super-sized vice, all the way, with onion rings on the side.

Cigarettes, drugs, none of them interest me. Food though= temptation. Sweet, sweet temptation.

jams o donnell said...

I can go along with that.. Mmmm Tofu, Mmmmmmm satay sauce... mmmmmm tomatoo and basil salad... Oh and a mountain of cake too!!!!

Anonymous said...

An opioid that strong could be potentially used as a weapon. If you had a solution with a few grams (think of handling precautions!)and aerosolized, it could knock out thousands of people, a power comparable to possibly VX. Since it's a solid, the solution, while still real dangerous, would be less so than a comparable amount of a nerve gas.

One milligram can knock out a 2 ton rhino out cold. That would suggest a knock-out dose of mere micrograms. This is comparable to the fact that sarin is like 300 times more effective than cyanide gas. If the powder is fine enough, like an aerosolized solution and the solvent droplets (the size of fog droplets) that evaporate, the itty bitty particles will penetrate the lungs and knock out or kill the victim. Note that particles landing on skin are also absorbed meaning that gas masks won't work. You'd need a space suit.

So, if you see a person driving a car with a space suit, look out!