A puff can get you hooked, study says

Just one cigarette could be enough to turn you into a daily smoker, according to a new study.

Researchers from Queen Mary University of London found two- thirds of people who tried a cigarette started smoking, although for some i t was only a temporary habit. The study analyzed data from eight surveys that included more than 215,000 people from the U. K., U. S., Australia and New Zealand.

“This is the first time that the remarkable hold that cigarettes can establish after a single experience has been documented from such a large set of data,” co- author Peter Hajek said.

The research justifies support for efforts to reduce cigarette experimentation, especially in young teenagers. However, the researchers cautioned these results are only an estimate, because the data was self-reported.

“It is possible that somebody who is a lifetime nonsmoker did try a cigarette when they were a kid but it didn’t make any impression on them, and they forgot it or don’t see that it is important enough to report,” Hajek told The Guardian. “I think even if you assume there is a recall issue and other things, you are talking about more than a 50 per cent ( conversion rate from trying a cigarette to daily smoking).”

The new study could encourage residents of Vale de Salgueiro, a small village in Portugal, to rethink their Epiphany tradition. Once a year, parents encourage children as young as five to smoke. The tradition, passed down for generations, takes place during the two- day celebration of the Christian Epiphany. It’s also tied to the Winter Solstice, but it’s unclear what puffing on a cigarette is meant to symbolize.

“I can’t explain why. I don’t see any harm in that because they don’t really smoke, they inhale and immediately exhale, of course,” Guilhermina Mateus told AP. “And it’s only on these days, today and tomorrow. They never ask for cigarettes again.”

But, according to t he study, two- thirds of the village’s children could develop a daily habit.

The study also demonstrates the need for more research on e-cigarettes. Research last year found some teenagers were attracted to e-cigarettes even if they had never tried cigarettes. They also found teens who used the electronic device were three times more likely to smoke within a year.

But Hajek said e- cigarettes may be less addictive. “It is striking that very few non-smokers who try e-cigarettes become daily vapers, while such a large proportion of non-smokers who try conventional cigarettes become daily smokers,” he said. “The presence of nicotine is clearly not the whole story.”

In Canada, smoking rates have been declining. According to StatCan, in 2014, just over 18 per cent of Canadians 12 and over considered themselves smokers. By 2016, this had declined to 12 per cent.