644 



The criteria for addiction usea in this Reoort ara comoieteiy 

 consistent with the criteria ana definitions of addiction used By the World 

 Health Organization, the National Institute on Drug Atjuse, and the American 

 Psychiatric Association. We comollment the Surgeon General for clearly 

 presenting these criteria against which to ccmoara the data that are 

 reviewed thrcugncut the Resort. The Surgeon General's .^leoort has perfor-ned 

 a valuaoie cuSiic service In providing a clear eiplanatlon of the criteria 

 for drug addiction that have tseen established tjy the community of drug 

 addiction experts over the past 20 years. Many individuals trs unaware of 

 these cr i ter i a . 



The Report accurately reviews the overwhelming scientific evidence to 

 suDOort the conclusions summarized in Chapter I. The review is 

 comprehensive and fair. In fact, the fleoort Is written as a scholarly 

 review in that weaicnesses as we i i as strengths of various studies are 

 pointed out. The Report presents state-of-the-art knowledge on nicotine 

 addiction, including relevant behavioral, psychological, and biological data 

 that are necessary to understand the addictive behavior of tobacco use. 



Top experts from the U.S. and abroad who study every aspect of 

 nicotine's affects contributed to this Report. Each chapter was reviewed 

 and critidued by up to 11 other Internationally known experts and their 

 comments were used to produce the final version of the Report. Many memsers 

 of the American Psychological Association, as wall as experts from other 

 disciplines Including pharmacology and the neurosclences, contributed to 

 •very phase of this pr'scess. Including authorships, reviews, and scientific 

 •d I t ing . 



