Phoenix Rising - Psychiatric Survivor Archives of Toronto

The Turkey Tail should be firmly
pinned to the butt of Dr. Sheila
Cantor, a Winnipeg psychiatrist
who claims that schizophrenia can
be treated with nicotine. Cantor
bases this unlikely conclusion on her
observation that the people she
treats tend to be more alert if they
smoke. Although she admits that
the exact mode of action is not
known, she offers by way of explanation
that nicotine acts as a
stimulant, helping to compensate
for malfunctions in the involuntary
nervous system that cause schizophrenia.
Such bargain-basement logic
clouds the reality that life on the
wards is boring. There's nothing to
do. No wonder an inmate seems
more alert and in a better frame of
mind upon being offered a free
smoke.
Dr. Cantor takes a normal human
reaction and imposes on it an
absurd medical analysis. The result:
a new treatment for schizophrenia.
(Imagine the government-funded
research projects: which brands of
cigarettes are most therapeutic?
What about filtered vs unfiltered?
How effective are cigars and pipes?)
Nothing to flick your bic about,
you may say; maybe we'll all get
free cigarettes. But psychiatrists
have always preferred the most
invasive methods of treatment possible.
Dr. Cantor's laughable conclusions
provide the perfect smokescreen
for a plan to inject schizophrenics
with nicotine. Witness her
statement that "I wish someone
would do some research into the use
of purified nicotine in treating
patients. "
Cantor seems unaware that the
method by which a drug is administered
has an effect on its action.
Her ignorance of basic pharmacology
reinforces one's suspicion that
psychiatrists don't go to medical
school. Swallowing nicotine or
applying tobacco preparations to
open wounds results in acute poisoning.
Symptoms include nausea,
vomiting, violent diarrhoea, convulsions,
paralysis and respiratory
arrest. Do we need another drug
with the side effect of sudden death?
Perhaps when Dr. Cantor's
patients stop breathing, she will
know it's time to butt out.
Phoenix Rising / 6