Genetics Make Quitting Harder

(Ivanhoe Newswire) Overcoming nicotine addition is tough for everyone, but a new study shows genetic variations make it particularly hard for European Americans who start young.

The study, which was done by scientists at the University of Utah and the University of Wisconsin, looked at genetic variations called SNPs. SNPs are changes in a single unit of DNA. A set of statistically linked SNPs is called a haplotype.

They found one haplotype for the nicotine receptor in the nervous system put European American smokers who started daily smoking before age 17 at higher risk of heavy nicotine addiction in adulthood. A second haplotye was found to actually reduce dependence for those who started young.

People who started smoking before the age of 17 and had two copies of the high-risk haplotype were five times more likely to be heavy smokers in adulthood. For those who started smoking at 17 or older, the risk of later addiction was not significant.

This study adds to recent advances in understanding how genetic variation can affect susceptibility to nicotine addiction, said National Institute on Drug Abuse Director, Dr. Nora Volkow.

The hope is these findings will help in developing smoking prevention and quitting programs tailored to individuals.

SOURCE: PLoS Genetics, July 11, 2008

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