Social smoking teens at massive risk of daily habit - study

People who smoked occasionally also tended to think of themselves as a being a "non-smoker". Photo / 123RF

Young occasional smokers are almost four times more likely to become daily smokers by their late 30s than their non-smoking peers, according to new University of Otago research.

The finding, published in an article in Nicotine & Tobacco Research, emerges from the Dunedin study, which has followed the health and development of about 1000 people born in the city from 1972-73.

The study has tracked the smoking habits of its members, including those at 21 and 38 years of age. At 21-years-old, about 10 per cent said they usually smoked weekly but not every day.

"At age 21, these occasional smokers tended to think it would be easy to quit smoking, and while some of them did manage to quit successfully, many were still smoking by age 38 and around 13 per cent of them were smoking every day by that stage," said the article's lead researcher, Lindsay Robertson.

People who smoked occasionally also tended to think of themselves as a being a "non-smoker".

"Because they don't smoke every day, they might think there isn't much harm in having a cigarette now and then," said Miss Robertson. "But when you look at it over the long-term, the risk of becoming a regular smoker is certainly there."

The study also found about a third of the 21-year-olds who were smoking five cigarettes or less a day became heavier smokers over the 17-year follow-up period.

The article was written by Ms Robertson, Dr Ella Iosua, Professor Rob McGee and Associate Professor Bob Hancox from the Department of Preventive and Social Medicine.

This research was supported by the Health Research Council of New Zealand.

*Anyone who wants help to quit smoking can contact Quitline on 0800 778 778 or visit www.quit.org.nz.