Addiction to Nicotine Highest in Years

(October 29, 2008) - Fewer people are smoking (Read about "Quit Smoking"), but those who still are appear to be more addicted to nicotine than ever. (Read about "Addiction") Nicotine dependence has reached a 15-year high, with nearly 75 percent of people currently seeking tobacco-dependence treatment categorized as highly nicotine dependent. New research reports that nicotine dependence severity has increased 12 percent between 1989 and 2006, while the proportion of people classified as highly nicotine dependent has increased 32 percent. The research was presented at CHEST 2008, the 74th annual international scientific assembly of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP)

The study's lead author, David P. Sachs, MD was not surprised by the findings. "After treating tobacco-dependent patients for the last 25 years and conducting many tobacco dependence clinical treatment trials, I began to see a shift in severity of physical, nicotine dependence that required me to develop more intensive treatment plans for my patients."

Although Dr. Sachs and his team identified a definite increase in tobacco dependence, the reason for this increase is still unclear.

"Previous studies suggest that individuals who have less severe nicotine dependence have already been successful at quitting smoking, which leaves a larger percentage of patients who are highly nicotine dependent among the greater tobacco-using community." Smokers who are highly addicted to nicotine may not even realize they are addicted but see their tobacco use as a "bad habit," and, consequently, never attempt smoking cessation or try to quit on their own.

"A person cannot know what his or her blood pressure (Read about "Hypertension: High Blood Pressure") is without measuring it. Similarly, a cigarette user cannot know how severe his or her nicotine dependence is without measuring it," said Dr. Sachs. "Many factors can identify someone as highly nicotine-addicted; however, as a quick 'bedside' test, if you light up your first cigarette within the first 30 minutes of awakening, you are most likely highly nicotine dependent." The results of the study suggest that more individualized tobacco-dependent treatments are needed to address the increase in addiction severity.

"The more severely nicotine dependent a person is, the greater the medical need for more intensive tobacco-dependent therapies," said Dr. Sachs. "Today's severely nicotine-dependent patient may not respond to the current 'standard' in tobacco dependence treatment, much of which is based on nicotine dependence data and outmoded treatment concepts from 15 years ago."