Recently, a study showed that even people who smoke only one cigarette a day and think they are a normal smoker can also become addicted.
According to the Daily Mail (UK), research published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine indicates that US experts studied 6,700 smokers to assess the level of nicotine addiction. The results showed that 2/3 of people who smoke 1-4 cigarettes a day are addicted to this nerve agent.
However, the team pointed out that addiction levels appeared to increase with the number of cigarettes smoked daily.
This finding underscores the importance of properly assessing the risk of nicotine dependence in all smokers, including those with normal smoking habits.
In the past, some people thought that only patients who smoked about 10 or more cigarettes a day were addicted. However, this study shows that many people who smoke less, even those who don’t smoke every day, can become addicted.
In addition, light smoking is considered less harmful than excessive smoking, but it still poses significant health risks. Health care providers sometimes regard lighter smokers as non-smokers. Therefore, they do not need treatment, but this study shows that many of them can have significant difficulty quitting without counseling.
In their study, the researchers analyzed an existing set of data collected by the National Institutes of Health, including information on more than 6,700 fully assessed smokers, on nicotine supplementation. according to the stated criteria. They found that 85% of daily smokers have some degree of addiction, whether mild, moderate, or severe.
“Surprisingly, almost two-thirds of those who smoke just 1 to 4 cigarettes a day are addicted, and about a quarter of those who smoke less than a week are addicted,” Dr. Foulds said.
However, researchers have found that the severity of tobacco addiction appears to increase as people smoke more often.
In fact, 35% of people who smoke 1 to 4 cigarettes per day will suffer from moderate or severe nicotine addiction. The study also showed that up to 74% of people smoke more than 21 cigarettes per day.
“Previous research has found that daily non-smokers were more likely to quit smoking than daily smokers. Doctors should ask patients about all smoking-related behaviors, including not smoking on a daily basis, as these smokers may still need treatment to be successful in quitting, ”said Oliver.
However, it is still unclear how effective existing interventions are for light smokers. Ongoing efforts to determine the optimal detoxification methods for this population remain an important direction for future research.
