Are adolescent smokers addicted to nicotine? The suitability of the nicotine dependence construct as applied to adolescents

Adolescent cigarette smoking has long been regarded as a major public health problem. Particularly disconcerting is the observation that over the last several years, greater numbers of adolescents are taking up this destructive behavior. While some have assumed that the majority of these smokers are, or will become, nicotine dependent, the fact is that we know very little about the phenomenon of nicotine dependence in adolescence. In this paper, the author reviews the theoretical and empirical bases from which inferences regarding addictive smoking in adolescence can be drawn. It appears that although a significant proportion of teenage smokers do progress to dependence, this is not an inevitable outcome for all adolescent smokers. Moreover, the scientific study of nicotine dependence among adolescents is still in its infancy and, as such, more work in the area of measurement and assess ment needs to be done. Implications for prevention and intervention efforts are also discussed.