The natural course of nicotine dependence symptoms among adolescent smokers.

Introduction: Few studies have investigated the natural course of nicotine dependence prospectively from the earliest experiences with smoking.

Methods: Drawing on a cohort of 9th- and 10th-grade adolescents followed over 48 months, survival analyses were conducted to evaluate the cumulative probability, following smoking initiation, for the development of nicotine dependence symptoms.

Results: Although each nicotine dependence symptom was significantly more prevalent among adolescents who had smoked more than 100 cigarettes by the end of the follow-up assessment, 20% of adolescents smoking fewer than 100 cigarettes reported experiencing "smoking to relieve restlessness and irritability" and "smoking a lot more now to be satisfied compared to when first smoked." Nicotine dependence symptoms were also reported before reaching 100 cigarettes for a substantial number of adolescents (between 9.4% and 58.8% for individual symptoms). Endorsement of nicotine dependence symptoms prospectively predicted past-week smoking (odds ratios [ORs] between 3.18 and 14.62 for significant symptoms) and past-month daily smoking (significant symptoms' ORs between 3.52 and 10.68) at the 48-month assessment even when controlling for amount of previous smoking.

Conclusions: The present study adds to the growing body of literature on the natural course of nicotine dependence from earliest experiences with smoking by showing that symptoms of nicotine dependence may develop soon after initiation and/or at low levels of smoking. Our findings suggest that novice adolescent smokers should not be neglected in smoking cessation intervention and that screening and effective intervention for early emerging symptoms among adolescent smokers may be an important target in preventing chronic smoking.