A study conducted at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis predicts smokers might significantly reduce the adverse health effects of their habit if they could switch from cigarettes to inhalers that deliver doses of what is called “clean nicotine.” Doctor Walton Sumner, the study’s principal investigator, says that while nicotine is addictive, it is not necessarily a health hazard. Doctor Sumner says nicotine, perhaps delivered through inhalers, would satisfy the body’s craving while sparing individuals the harmful effects of tobacco smoke.