A recent study suggested that 3 out of 5 people who 'try' a cigarette end up becoming daily smokers. And the lead findings from the study show that over 215,000 survey respondents provide strong support for prioritising efforts to reduce cigarette experimentation among adolescents. Lead researcher Professor Peter Hajek from Queen Mary said, "This is the first time that the remarkable hold that cigarettes can establish after a single experience has been documented from such a large set of data."
"In the development of any addictive behaviour, the move from experimentation to daily practice is an important landmark, as it implies that a recreational activity is turning into a compulsive need. We've found that the conversion rate from 'first-time smoker' to 'daily smoker' is surprisingly high, which helps confirm the importance of preventing cigarette experimentation in the first place," Hajek said. The researchers also searched the Global Health Data Exchange for relevant surveys that might have included questions about ever trying a cigarette and ever smoking daily.
The team calculated that 60.3 percent of respondents had said they had ever tried a cigarette, and among those, an estimated 68.9 percent said they had progressed to daily smoking. Given the high conversion rate found in all existing surveys, the researchers suggest that at least some of the reduction in smoking prevalence observed over the past 20 years is likely due to reduced experimentation with cigarettes among adolescents.
So, the next time you want to 'just try it out', maybe you should think twice about it. The findings of this study have been published in the journal Nicotine & Tobacco Research.
