His father, Samuel Polonsky, was born in Edinet, Bessarabia. After emigrating to the USA, hemoved his family to Pollin. He is best remembered as the person who "declared cigarette smoking was more addictive than alcohol or heroin. Apsychiatrist by training, in 1983 Dr. Pollin condemned cocaine, in particular, as 'the most seduc- tive and powerfully reinforcing drug we know? In 1986 he conducted a confidential study for the Senate Judiciary Committee to determine if Supreme Court Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist was addicted to the prescription sedative Placidyl. His findings were never made public. Dr. Pollin previously served as chief of the National Institute of Mental Health's section on psychiatry and as research director of the White House Special Action Office for Drug Abuse Prevention. Amongother pro- fessional accomplishments, he was one of several researchers who helped prove that cigarette smoking was a from of drug addiction. He served in the Merchant marine in the Pacific during World War I. At NIMH he contributed to early studies which examined pairs of twins to determine the connection between development of schizo- phrenia and obstetrical complications and various other neurological abnormalities. At NIDA he was one of the key researchers who changed the medical view of tobacco smoking from an unhealthy habit to a diagnosable drug addiction-after which cigarette makers nicknamed him "Doctor Death" to the tobacco industry.