Early smokers would have more difficulty quitting smoking.
- People who start smoking before age 20 have higher addiction scores.
- They also have more difficulty quitting smoking, compared to smokers who started after age 20.
- In France, nearly 12 million people smoke daily.
One in five secondary school students declares having already smoked and experimentation accelerates markedly between the 5th and 4th grade classes, increasing from 14.0% to 26.1%, according to French Observatory for Drugs and Drug Addiction (OFDT). Among 3rd graders, 6.5% already declare themselves to be daily smokers. This can have consequences for addiction in adulthood.
556 people started smoking before the age of 20
According to a new study presented at the congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). The researchers found that smokers who started before age 20 were more addicted and had a harder time quitting afterward.
To reach this conclusion, the scientists studied the data of 1,382 smokers aged 58 on average, 30% of whom were women, who had consulted in a withdrawal clinic in Japan. Through a questionnaire, their level of nicotine addiction was determined: low (score 1-2), low to moderate (3-4), moderate (5-7) or high (8 or more). Participants were divided into two groups based on the age at which they started smoking: 556 smokers were in the under-20s group and 826 in the other.
More difficult to quit smoking in young smokers
According to the results, the adults in the first group smoked more cigarettes per day (25 versus 22), had higher respiratory carbon monoxide levels and addiction scores (7.4 versus 6.3). In addition, 46% of the participants succeeded in quitting smoking, compared to 56% in the second group. After the scientists’ calculations, those in the first group were 30% less likely to successfully quit smoking.
Finally, the researchers divided the participants into four groups, based on the age they started smoking: 17 or younger, 18 to 19, 20 to 21, and 22 or older. Their addiction scores were 7.5, 7.2, 6.7 and 6 respectively, which shows that addiction is less strong the later you start smoking.
“Our results show that starting to smoke early is linked to higher nicotine dependence, even in young adults, says Dr. Koji Hasegawa, lead author of the study, in a statement. Raising the legal age to buy tobacco to 22 or older could help reduce the number of people addicted to nicotine and at risk of adverse health consequences.”
