Dr. Victor DeNoble, Famous Researcher on
Teen-Age Addition Visits Olympic
September 29, 2011
Students on the Olympic/Alliance and Crossroads campuses
were fortunate to be invited to attend an informative and entertaining
presentation by Victor DeNoble, Ph.D., and noted researcher on the biology of
addiction. Dr. DeNoble, in very frank terms using slides and exhibits, discussed
the extreme addictiveness of nicotine and other drugs most often used by teens
today.
Dr. DeNoble’s story of taking on the multi-billion
tobacco industry and hearing what his tobacco research revealed was eye-opening.
From 1980-1984, Dr. DeNoble was a senior Researcher at Philip Morris Tobacco
Company. He performed studies on nicotine addiction and was fired because of
what the studies revealed. In 1994, he became the first whistle-blower to begin
tearing down the wall of secrecy built by the tobacco industry. Dr. DeNoble was
a key witness in the federal government case against the tobacco industry. He as
been featured on “60 Minutes”, “Dateline NBC”, “Sunday Morning with David
Brinkley” and was the subject of the film “The Insider” based on the events of
his life.
Students listened attentively as Dr. DeNoble showed the
results of nicotine addition in rats and monkeys using slides and showing a rat
brain and the effects of continued use. Several students stayed after the
presentation to meet with Dr. DeNoble and asked him specific questions about his
presentation.
Olympic was very fortunate to have Dr. DeNoble at our
school and thank him for his continued work in the field of addiction and for
his reaching out to students of all ages with his message. If one person
stops smoking as a result of his presentation or thinks about stopping, his
efforts will have been totally worthwhile.