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Release Date: Thursday 10 April,
2003
RESEARCH SHOWS KIDS CAN BECOME HOOKED AFTER
ONLY A FEW CIGARETTES
Adolescents can become rapidly hooked on cigarettes
and move quickly to becoming regular smokers
after only a short period of experimenting with
smoking, according to a leading overseas researcher.
Speaking at the 2nd Australian Tobacco Control
Conference in Melbourne today, Dr Ann McNeill
a senior lecturer in psychology at St. George's
Hospital Medical School, University of London,
said there
are a range of factors that determine why some
kids become hooked and others don't.
"
We know that a large proportion of adolescents
will experiment with cigarettes at some stage,
and some will go on to become regular smokers
while others won't."
"
Adolescents smoke for very different reasons
than adults - preliminary research results suggest
adolescents smoke for reward, while adults tend
to smoke for relief of withdrawal."
Dr McNeill said genetics and environment both
play a role in explaining why some young people
become hooked after trying cigarettes and other
don't.
" Some of the factors that determine
a person's susceptibility to becoming a smoker
include personality factors, and also physical
factors such as how their body reacts to nicotine
and whether they were exposed to nicotine in
the womb."
"
Environmental influences such as growing up in
households where adults are smokers, or being
exposed to tobacco promotions can also determine
how likely a young person is to both try smoking,
and then move on to being a regular smoker."
Dr McNeill said adolescents desire to try new
things was one of the main problems in preventing
adolescent smoking uptake.
"
Feeling dizzy and nauseous after their first
few puffs of a cigarette is not enough to stop
many adolescents from persevering with smoking," she
said.
Dr McNeill said that research has found the development
of nicotine dependence in adolescents occurs
very quickly.
"
Nicotine dependence in adolescents is indicated
by factors such as whether young people have
tried to quit but couldn't, cravings for cigarettes,
difficulty in not smoking at school, or feeling
irritable
or finding it hard to concentrate if they can't
smoke."
"
The message from this research is that adolescents
experimenting with smoking are addicted before
they know it," Dr
McNeill said.
Over 370 delegates from Australia
and overseas are attending the 2nd Australian
Tobacco Control Conference in Melbourne this
week. The conference concludes on Friday.
-ends-
For media enquiries about the conference with any of the speakers,
please contact Zoe Furman on (03) 9635 5517 mobile
0408
176 934 email zoe.furman@cancervic.org.au
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