Some hooked on cigarettes in short time

BOSTON, July 6 (UPI) -- Ten percent of youths who become hooked on cigarettes are addicted within two days of first inhaling a cigarette, found a U.S. study.

The study, published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, also found that 25 percent are addicted within a month.

Adolescents who smoke even just a few cigarettes per month suffer withdrawal symptoms when deprived of nicotine -- an unexpected finding that is contrary to long-held beliefs that only people with established smoking habits of at least five cigarettes per day experience such symptoms.

The researchers monitored 1,246 sixth-grade students in six Massachusetts communities over four years on their smoking and symptoms of addiction, such as difficulty quitting, strong urges to smoke, or nicotine withdrawal symptoms.

Of those who said they were hooked, half were already addicted by the time they were smoking seven cigarettes per month. Some youths find they are unable to quit smoking after just a few cigarettes, according to study leader Dr. Joseph R. DiFranza, of the University of Massachusetts Medical School.