Compulsion to Smoke After Trying one Cigarette

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Trying just one cigarette can double the likelihood an adolescent or teenager will become a smoker even years later, reveals new research from University College, London.

The study of 6,000 11- to 16-year olds revealed kids who smoked just one cigarette were twice as likely to become smokers in the next three years even though they didn't smoke any in the time between.

"This is the first clear demonstration of a 'sleeper effect' or period of dormant vulnerability," writes Jennifer Fidler, of the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at University College, London.

Researchers analyzed surveys and saliva samples to calculate their findings, which held regardless of other factors believed to contribute to teen smoking, including whether parents smoked.

"Preventing children from trying even one cigarette may be important, and the design of interventions should recognize adolescents who have smoked just once, several years previously, as potentially vulnerable to later smoking uptake," Fidler says.

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SOURCE: Tobacco Control, 2006;15:205-209