If you are a smoker, your craving for nicotine is wired into your brain. How does nicotine work? When you smoke a cigarette, nicotine is absorbed into your blood. It then stimulates your adrenal glands to release the hormone epinephrine (adrenaline). Epinephrine, in turn, increases your blood pressure, breathing and heart rate. Much like cocaine and heroin, nicotine increases dopamine levels. Dopamine affects parts of the brain that control reward and pleasure. So what does this have to do with the iPhone? As it turns out, this dopamine "hit" is the same thing that compels you - and 1.8 billion others on the planet - to check your Facebook page every day. That literally makes smartphones addictive. In a recent study by Psychology Today, 94% of participants reported feeling troubled when they didn't have their phone with them. Another study found that half of participants would rather have a broken bone than a broken phone. Are Smartphones the New Tobacco?Comparing smartphone use to nicotine may strike you as absurd. After all, smoking causes cancer, heart disease and respiratory illness, which can be fatal. About 8 million people will die from tobacco use this year. IPhones don't kill - at least not directly. (Although the Insurance Information Institute reports that 14% of fatal car crashes in the U.S. involve cellphones.) Still, there are unsettling parallels between the strategies of big tobacco companies and tech giants like Apple. Tech companies work hard to keep their users addicted, and they have become remarkably good at it. Forty-six percent of U.S. smartphone users spend between five and six hours on a smartphone every day. Apple claims that they are just giving users what they want. (For a detailed examination of these tactics, watch The Social Dilemma, a Netflix documentary that explores the dangerous impact of social networking.) The addictive properties of smartphones have been exacerbated by the shift of everyday infrastructure to smartphone apps. The sheer number and variety of apps - for trading, banking, commuting, making event reservations and ticket purchases, acquiring COVID-19 vaccination certificates and more - have made it almost impossible to live without a smartphone. Comparing the dangers of smartphones to those of tobacco may be overstating it. But there is little doubt that the devices are as addictive as nicotine. And investing in a company whose product is addictive... Well, that makes a lot of sense, no matter what today's financial statements tell you. Getting back to my relative's investment in Apple... I don't believe Apple will continue to rise 30% per year forever. That said, the addictive properties of Apple's products make it hard to let go of the stock. If you own Apple, I recommend you consider it part of your "never sell" portfolio. Enjoy the stock's relentless long-term rise - preferably outside with your iPhone turned off. The profits alone are genuinely addictive. Good investing, Nicholas | 
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