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‘Casual’ smokers may also have nicotine addiction

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Even if you consider yourself a light or “casual” smoker, it does not necessarily mean that you have completely escaped nicotine addiction, warns new research.

Many light smokers — those who smoke one to four cigarettes per day or fewer — meet the criteria for nicotine addiction and should therefore be considered for treatment, said the study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

 

“In the past, some considered that only patients who smoke around 10 cigarettes per day or more were addicted, and I still hear that sometimes,” said Jonathan Foulds, Professor at Pennsylvania State University in the US.

“But this study demonstrates that many lighter smokers, even those who do not smoke every day, can be addicted to cigarettes. It also suggests that we need to be more precise when we ask about cigarette smoking frequency.”

The researchers examined an existing data set from the National Institutes of Health in the US, including more than 6,700 smokers who had been fully assessed to find out if they met the 11 criteria listed in the 5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5) for tobacco use disorder.

They found that 85 per cent of the daily cigarette smokers were addicted to some extent — either mild, moderate or severe addiction.

“Surprisingly, almost two thirds of those smoking only one to four cigarettes per day were addicted, and around a quarter of those smoking less than weekly were addicted,” Foulds said.

The researchers found that the severity of cigarette addiction, as indicated by the number of criteria met, increased with the frequency of smoking, with 35 per cent of those smoking one-to-four cigarettes per day and 74 per cent of those smoking 21 cigarettes or more per day being moderately or severely addicted.

“Lighter smoking is correctly perceived as less harmful than heavy smoking, but it still carries significant health risks,” said Jason Oliver, Assistant Professor at Duke University in the US.

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Corona

Covid toll in Karnataka is a worrying sign for state government

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Even though Karnataka recorded the lowest number of Covid deaths in April since the virus struck first in 2020, the state is recording a rise in the positivity rate (1.50 per cent). Five people died from the Covid infections in April as per the statistics released by the state health department. In March, the positivity rate stood around 0.53 per cent. In the first week of April it came down to 0.38 per cent, second week registered 0.56 per cent, third week it rose to 0.79 per cent and by end of April the Covid positivity rate touched 1.19 per cent.

on an average 500 persons used to succumb everyday in the peak of Covid infection, as per the data. Health experts said that the mutated Coronavirus is losing its fierce characteristics as vaccination, better treatment facilities and awareness among the people have contributed to the lesser number of Covid deaths.

During the 4th and 6th of April two deaths were reported in Bengaluru, one in Gadag district on April 8, two deaths were reported from Belagavi and Vijayapura on April 30. The first Covid case was reported in the state in March 2020 and three Covid deaths were recorded in the month. In the following month 21 people became victims to the deadly virus, and May 2020 recorded 22 deaths. The death toll recorded everyday after May crossed three digits. However, the third wave, which started in January 2

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