Adolescents, women, and Caucasians are particularly vulnerable to developing nicotine dependence, according to an analysis of the data from the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse interviews with 22,292 smokers. Researchers published their findings in Nicotine and Tobacco Research.
About the Study
Dr. Denise B. Kandel, of Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute, and her colleagues found that at similar or lower levels of nicotine use, dependency rates are higher among females than among males, and higher among whites than among minorities. They are lowest among older adults (over 50). The researchers theorize that these differences in rates of dependency symptoms reflect differences in sensitivity to nicotine.
"This is the first study to analyze the varying responses to increased levels of cigarette smoking – varying by age, gender, and ethnicity. The study suggests that the threshold for determining nicotine dependence might vary among different groups," said Dr. Alan I. Leshner, director, National Institute on Drug Abuse. "This research is a first step in investigating nicotine dependence in various population groups."
Teens At Highest Risk
Adolescents, who smoke significantly fewer cigarettes a day than adults, experience substantially higher rates of dependence than do adults at the same level of usage. Researchers believe this is due to adolescents' higher sensitivity at low doses of nicotine.
Adolescents appear to be particularly vulnerable to becoming nicotine-dependent, especially at low levels of cigarette consumption, the study concluded.
Nicotine Dependence Increases with Consumption
Nicotine dependence was measured using six diagnostic criteria and symptoms: tolerance (needing ever-increasing amounts to feel the effects), withdrawal symptoms, using more nicotine than intended, failed efforts to cut down usage, negative social and job-related consequences, and persistent health problems.
Using these criteria, teenagers, women, and whites experienced more dependence symptoms while using the same number of cigarettes, or fewer, than did other groups (men, older people, and nonwhites). Dependence rates increase sharply as consumption increases, up to a half-pack of cigarettes a day. Dependent smokers are more likely to continue smoking and to use increasingly larger amounts to sustain the nicotine effect. |
