People Smoking Even One Cigarette A Day Are Addicted To Nicotine, Finds Study

Smoking is bad for our health, period. There are no two thoughts about it. However, several smokers categorise themselves as light or heavy smokers, with the assumption that the latter ones are addicted to the cigarette.?

However, new research has revealed that people who smoke even once a day could be addicted to nicotine and require treatment.?

Reuters

This is according to a study (published in The American Journal of Preventive Medicine) led by Jonathan Foulds, a public health researcher at Penn State University. The study looked at over 6,700 smokers who were analysed for addiction against the DSM-5 criteria. The data was collected by the National Institute of Health.

Researchers discovered that 85 percent of daily cigarette smokers were addicted to nicotine on some degree. However, the study did find that the severity of the addiction appears more in people who smoke more frequently.?

According to the study, almost two-thirds of those smoking only one to four cigarettes per day were addicted and around a quarter of those smoking less than weekly were addicted.

As much as 35 per cent individuals smoking between one and four cigarettes a day were categorised as moderately or severely addicted as compared to 74 per cent of those smoking more than 21 cigarettes on a daily basis.

Foulds said in the study, “In the past, some considered that only patients who smoke around 10 cigarettes per day or more were addicted, and I still hear that sometimes. But this study demonstrates that many lighter smokers, even those who do not smoke every day, can be addicted to cigarettes. It also suggests that we need to be more precise when we ask about cigarette smoking frequency.”

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Another study author Professor Jason Oliver further explained, “Previous research has found that non-daily smokers are more likely than daily smokers to make a quit attempt. Clinicians should ask about all smoking behaviour, including non-daily smoking, as such smokers may still require treatment to successfully quit smoking.”

He concluded stating, “Yet, it is unclear the extent to which existing interventions are effective for light smokers. Continued efforts to identify optimal cessation approaches for this population remain an important direction for future research.”