A study conducted by researchers at the University of Massachusetts revealed how quickly nicotine cravings can promote a life-threatening addiction.

For the study, researchers created a 10-point Hooked on Nicotine Checklist and administered it to 679 seventh grade students. The checklist asked about cravings, the inability to stop smoking and behavior changes.

The research team found that teens who answered just one of the questions affirmatively had already become addicted to cigarettes and were 29 times more likely to fail in efforts to quit compared with older smokers.

"We were quite shocked ourselves," said Dr. Joseph R. DiFranza, University of Massachusetts medical school professor who directed research. "We thought that the kids that were developing symptoms so quickly were going to be the extreme examples. The opposite turned out to be true; kids that were developing symptoms of addiction within a few weeks of starting smoking were the rule rather than exception."

The study is published in the April 2002 issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

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