Teenagers may start smoking because of peer pressure, but they become addicted to nicotine in part because of their genes.
Young smokers with a particular set of â??high riskâ? genes are more likely to become hooked on cigarettes for life than their peers with different DNA, according to a new study published this month in the journal Public Library of Science Genetics.
Scientists from the University of Utah and the University of Wisconsin-Madison studied DNA samples from 2,827 long-term adult smokers â?? including about 400 smokers from Milwaukee and Madison â?? to look for changes in the genetic code linked to nicotine dependence.