Health
More smokers are highly addicted
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Nov. 10, 2008
The number of smokers highly dependent on nicotine has reached a 15-year high, states research presented Oct. 28 in Philadelphia at CHEST 2008, the 74th annual international scientific assembly of the American College of Chest Physicians.
The increase in the number of highly addicted smokers may require physicians to develop more intensive treatment plans for patients who want to quit, said the study's lead researcher, David P. Sachs, MD, director of the Palo Alto (Calif.) Center for Pulmonary Disease Prevention.
A quick test for patients would be "if you light up your first cigarette within the first 30 minutes of awakening, you are most likely highly nicotine dependent," Dr. Sachs said.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2008/11/10/hlbf1110.htm.