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How Addictive Can Cigarettes Be? Two Case Reports

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 February 2012

Oliver West ,
Hayden McRobbie  and
Peter Hajek
Oliver West*
Affiliation:
UK Centre for Tobacco Control Studies, Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary, University of London, United Kingdom. o.west@qmul.ac.uk
Hayden McRobbie
Affiliation:
UK Centre for Tobacco Control Studies, Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary, University of London, United Kingdom.
Peter Hajek
Affiliation:
UK Centre for Tobacco Control Studies, Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary, University of London, United Kingdom.
*
*Address for correspondence: Oliver West, UK Centre for Tobacco Control Studies, Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary, University of London, London E1 2AD.
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Abstract

The addiction literature contains numerous case reports of individuals dependent on a range of chemical substances, but strong dependence on cigarettes has not been similarly documented. This report attempts to fill this gap by describing two exceptionally dependent smokers. Both suffer with a smoking-related disease and have a very strong motivation to quit. Despite receiving intensive behavioural and pharmacological treatments to help them stop smoking, they have been unable to maintain even a short period of abstinence. The two cases provide reference examples for the assertion that while not all smokers are hopelessly hooked, some are. Such illustrative cases may stimulate research into the area of individual differences in cigarette dependence.

Keywords

cigarette dependenceaddictionand individual differences
Type
Case Study
Information
Journal of Smoking Cessation , Volume 5 , Issue 1 , 01 June 2010 , pp. 102 - 105
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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