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One study confirmed that even people who smoke half a cigarette a day and consider themselves regular smokers can be addicted to nicotine and need treatment. American experts studied more than 6,700 smokers whose addiction was tested and found that two-thirds of those who smoked 1 to 4 cigarettes a day were addicted.
However, the team found that the frequency of more serious addictions increased with the number of cigarettes smoked per day. They concluded that the results underscore the importance of adequately assessing the risk of addiction in all smokers, including those with a normal habit.
“This study shows that many regular smokers, even those who don’t smoke every day, can become addicted to cigarettes,” said research paper author and public health researcher Jonathan Folds of Pennsylvania State University.
When screening people for nicotine addiction, or tobacco use disorder, as it is officially known, clinicians are supposed to use the 11-part criteria outlined in the fifth edition of the DSM, or DSM-5. To abreviate.
However, Jason Oliver, author and behavioral scientist at Duke University, explained that doctors often ask the question “How many cigarettes do you smoke a day?” Diagnostic shortcut; however, this can be misleading.
Professor Oliver said: “Light smoking is considered less harmful than heavy smoking, but it still carries significant health risks. Healthcare providers sometimes argue that regular smokers are not addicted and therefore do not need treatment, but this study indicates that many of them may have great difficulty quitting without help.
In their study, the researchers analyzed an existing dataset compiled by the National Institutes of Health, which included information on more than 6,700 smokers who were fully tested for nicotine addition based on DSM-5 criteria.
They found that 85% of daily cigarette smokers were addicted to some degree, whether it was mild, moderate, or severe.
The researchers found that the severity of cigarette addiction seemed to increase as more people smoked.
In fact, 35% of those who smoke between one and four cigarettes a day have a moderate or severe addiction, compared to 74% of those who smoke more than 21 cigarettes a day.
Doctors should ask about all smoking-related behaviors, including non-daily smoking, because these smokers need treatment to quit successfully, according to the “Daily Mail.”
