Young smokers can become addicted to nicotine within two days of
first inhaling, according to a disturbing new study quoted in media
reports Wednesday.
The study, conducted by a team of physicians from the University
of Massachusetts Medical School, contradicts the belief that
long-term smoking is necessary to develop an addiction.
"The importance of this study is that it contradicts what has
been the accepted wisdom for many decades," said Dr. Joseph
DiFranza, the lead author, "which is that people had to smoke at
least five cigarettes a day over a long period of time to risk
becoming addicted to nicotine." DiFranza is a professor of family
medicine at the University of Massachusetts.
The study also finds children need only smoke seven cigarettes a
month to report symptoms of dependence.
The definition of tobacco addiction is controversial, but the
scientists used widely accepted criteria to diagnose dependence and
a well-validated questionnaire to determine the extent to which
smokers had allowed the habit to dictate their behavior.
The student volunteers were interviewed 11 times over a
four-year period. They also took saliva samples to determine blood
levels of nicotine and link them to addictive behavior.
Most of the youths began inhaling at just under age 13 (average
age of 12.8 years), 38 percent developed tobacco dependence, and 70
percent had cravings that were difficult to control before they
were smoking every day.
The study's authors urged that teenagers be warned that it might
only take "one cigarette to initiate a life-long dependence on
tobacco."
(Xinhua News Agency via Agencies August 1, 2007)
