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This information is provided for your educational use. It is not intended to replace recommendations made by your health care provider. Click an article headline to read... « More Health & Wellness Articles How Addicted Are You to Smoking?03/02/06 How Addicted Are You to Smoking?
Is smoking “just a habit” or are you addicted? Many smokers are unsuccessful at quitting because of their addiction to nicotine. Every person has a different level of nicotine addiction. The more dependent you are on nicotine the more severe the withdrawal symptoms are when you try and quit.
Take this mini assessment—Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence*—to find out how addicted your body is to nicotine. Check your total score for your dependence level in the table at the end of the assessment.
If you smoke:
1. How soon after you wake up do you smoke your first cigarette?
A. After 60 minutes (0 points)
B. 31-60 minutes (1 point)
C. 6-30 minutes (2 points)
D. Within 5 minutes (3 points)
2. Do you find it difficult to refrain from smoking in places where it is forbidden?
A. No (0 points)
B. Yes (1 point)
3. Which cigarette would you hate most to give up?
A. The first in the morning (1 point)
B. Any other (0 points)
4. How many cigarettes per day do you smoke?
A. 10 or less (0 points)
B. 11-20 (1 point)
C. 21-30 (2 points)
D. 31 or more (3 points)
5. Do you smoke more frequently during the first hours after awakening than during the
rest of the day?
A. No (0 points)
B. Yes (1 point)
6. Do you smoke even if you are so ill that you are in bed most of the day?
A. No (0 points)
B. Yes (1 point)
Your Total Score _________
No matter what your score, even if it is low, it is important that you quit smoking. By doing so you will reduce your risk for a variety of smoking-related life-threatening health problems including heart attack, stroke, and cancer. Your health care provider can prescribe a nicotine replacement to help you quit and reduce your nicotine withdrawal.
For information on how to quit smoking, see:
National Cancer Institute
Smoking Quitline
Phone: 877-44U-QUIT (877-448-7848),TTY: 1-800-332-8615
American Cancer Society
“Guide to Quitting Smoking”
Call 1-800-ACS-2345 for the number of the telephone “quitline” or other support in your area.
CDC Tobacco and Prevention Source
“You Can Quit Smoking Consumer Guide”
American Lung Association
Freedom From Smoking® free online smoking cessation program
*Heatherton TF, Kozlowski LT, Frecker RC, Fagerstrom KO. “The Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence: A Revision of the Fagerstrom Tolerance Questionnaire, British Journal of Addictions, 1991, 86:1119-2 « More Health & Wellness Articles 
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