Impact of Smoking Initiation age on Nicotine Dependency and Cardiovascular Risk Factors: A Retrospective Cohort Study in Japan

Initiating smoking in early adolescence results in challenges with smoking cessation and is associated with high risk of cardiovascular disease. Recently, the initiation of smoking has transitioned from adolescence to young adulthood. However, there are few reports on the impact of initiating smoking at a later age. This study investigated the impact of the age of smoking initiation on nicotine dependency, smoking cessation rates, and cardiovascular risk factors, using a cutoff point of 20 years, within the Japanese population. This retrospective cohort study encompassed 1,382 smokers who sought smoking cessation treatment at Kyoto Medical Centre Hospital between 2007 and 2019. Clinical indicators were evaluated by adjusting for age at the time of hospital visit and sex. The smoking cessation rate was further adjusted for treatment medication. The group with a smoking initiation age of <20 years reported a higher number of cigarettes/day (p = 0.002), higher respiratory carbon monoxide levels (p < 0.001), a higher Fagerström test for nicotine Dependence (FTND) score (p < 0.001), and a higher self-rating depression scale score (p = 0.014). They also reported lower diastolic blood pressure (p = 0.020) and a lower successful smoking cessation rate (OR:0.736 95% CI (0.569, 0.951)) than the group with a smoking initiation age of ≥20 years. When smokers were divided into four groups based on the age they started smoking, the FTND score for those who started at 20–21 years was significantly higher than the score for those who started at 22 years or older. In young adulthood, initiating smoking later (beyond 20 years old) was associated with lower nicotine dependency and fewer depressive tendencies, as well as a higher success rate in smoking cessation among Japanese smokers. The results might suggest that raising the legal smoking initiation age from 20 to 22 years old or older could be effective in reducing nicotine dependency in smokers.