Reply to Letter to the Editor "Nicotine-Induced Angiogenesis"

Letter to the Editor

Sir: We would like to thank Dr. Schwartz for drawing attention to the possibility that the chronic use of transdermal nicotine to treat Tourette's disorder could pose a potential risk that was not mentioned in our article. As pointed out by Dr. Schwartz, a recent in vitro study found that nicotine induced angiogenesis and accelerated the growth of tumors and atheroma under laboratory conditions. However, these authors stated that their findings raise particular concerns about the effects of chronic nicotine use in humans at risk for pathologic angiogenesis as opposed to those without such risks.