Another Dramatic Addiction Study from VTCRI Scientist

Warren Bickel

I wrote a column for FRONT, the magazine I used to co-own/edit, a year or so ago on Warren Bickel, the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute scientist who was researching some of the effects of addiction on drunks and druggies (I'm recovering from the former) and was mightily impressed at his findings at the time. He was looking at how addicted people view the future and the found that they aren't looking at it very much at all, which is one of their problems.

Today, the National Institute of Drug Abuse has recognized the value of his work with a whopping $3.2 million grant that allows him to study how to help people quit smoking. This is an example of the enormously important work going on at the Institute, one of the most important institutions in Virginia.

A lot of smokers have been recruited to take part in Bickel's study, which is looking to confirm his hypothesis of short-term outlooks among the addicted and doing something about it. Good luck with this, sir. I admire your work.