Light smokers likely just as addicted as heavy smokers

Photo courtesy of Penn State News

CANCER DIGEST – Jan. 2, 2021 –People who smoke as few as one to four cigarettes a day are addicted to nicotine and find quitting altogether to be very difficult without assistance, a new study shows. The findings appear in the Dec. 22, 2020 American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Such smokers considered "light smokers" have correctly perceived that their habit is less harmful than heavy smoking, but it still carries significant medical health risks. Medical providers have tended to consider "light smokers" as not addicted and, therefor not in need of treatment, however this study suggests many of these patients are addicted and will not successfully quit without treatment.
The researchers analyzed existing data from the National Institutes of Health, including more than 6,700 smokers who had been fully assessed to find out if they met the psychological criteria for tobacco addiction technically referred to as tobacco use disorder. They found that 85 percent of the daily cigarette smokers were addicted to some extent ranging from mile to severe addiction.

When they broke the data down the groups into numbers of cigarettes per day smoked they found that 66 percent of those smoking only one to four cigarettes a day were addicted and surprisingly, 25 percent of those who smoked less than once a week were addicted.

"Previous research has found that non-daily smokers are more likely than daily smokers to make a quit attempt," co-author Jason Oliver, assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, Duke University said in a press release. "Clinicians should ask about all smoking behavior, including non-daily smoking, as such smokers may still require treatment to successfully quit smoking."

Sources: Penn State News and American Journal of Preventive Medicine