Smoking characteristics and nicotine dependence in COPD patients and

healthy smokers

Snighdha Singh

Guide: Sonali Kar, Pratima Singh, Bhaskar Thakur

The prevalence ranged between 2 to 22% among the men and 1.2 to
19% among women in different population-based studies across India. 1

Due to its association with smoking and environmental pollution, the burden is
much higher in low and middle-income countries and cities.

Tobacco cigarette smoking has a major impact on four of the most

common causes of death in the US: (i) coronary heart disease; (ii)
cancer (lung, upper aerodigestive tract, pancreas, stomach, bladder,
kidney and cervix); (iii) cerebral vascular accidents;4, 5 and (iv) chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).2

Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence is a validated scoring test that

gives evidence of nicotine dependence.

Very few studies have cited that Smokers with COPD had higher nicotine
dependence scores than smokers without COPD .3

It is intended to observe the nicotine dependence among COPD patients and

healthy non COPD smokers to detect if the disease has an effect on the
nicotine dependence.

1. https://juniperpublishers.com/ijoprs/pdf/IJOPRS.MS.ID.555599
.pd
2. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Tobacco use
among U.S. racial/ethnic minority groups − African Americans,
 American Indians and Alaska natives, Asian Americans and Pacific
Islanders, and Hispanics: a report of the surgeon general. Atlanta,
3. Pride NB. Smoking cessation: effects on symptoms, spirometry and future trends in COPD.
Thorax 2001;56(2):ii7e10.
4. Jime´nez-Ruiz CA, Masa F, Miravitlles M, et al. Smoking characteristics: differences in
attitudes and dependence between healthy smokers and smokers with COPD. Chest
2001;119: 1365e70GA:
USKHHS, CDC, 1998. Accessed Dec 5
2005; http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/sgr_1998/index.h
tm.