Cigarette Cravings Result From Habit and Not Addiction

A study shows why nicotine patches and gum are ineffective methods to fight cigarette cravings, and could provide the basis for more successful psychologically-based smoking cessation programs.

The study found that the cigarette craving intensity had more to do with the psychosocial element of smoking than with the physiological effects of nicotine as an addictive chemical.

"These findings might not be popular with advocates of the nicotine addiction theory, because they undermine the physiological role of nicotine and emphasize mind over matter when it comes to smoking," study author Dr. Reuven Dar says.

He hopes this research will help clinicians and health authorities develop more efficient smoking cessation programs than those using expensive nicotine patches or gum.

The study’s conclusions are based on two landmark studies. The studies conclude that nicotine is not addictive as physiological addictions are usually defined. While nicotine does have a physiological role in increasing cognitive abilities such as attention and memory, it's not an addictive substance like heroin, which creates true systemic and biologically-based withdrawal symptoms in the body of the user.

Dr. Dar believes that people who smoke do so for short-term benefits like oral gratification, sensory pleasure and social camaraderie. Once the habit is established, people continue to smoke in response to cues and in situations that become associated with smoking. He believes that understanding smoking as a habit, not an addiction, will facilitate treatment. Smoking cessation techniques should emphasize the psychological and behavioral aspects of the habit and not the biological aspects, he suggests. The good news is that there has been a significant decrease in smoking prevalence from 1965 to 2007.