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Prevalence of tobacco dependence and withdrawal

Published Online:https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.144.2.205

In a sample of 1,006 middle-aged male smokers drawn from the general population, 90% (N = 905) fulfilled DSM-III criteria and 36% (N = 362) fulfilled Fagerstrom's criteria for tobacco dependence. Among the 875 who had stopped smoking in the past for at least 24 hours, 21% (N = 184) fulfilled DSM-III criteria and 46% (N = 403) fulfilled the authors' own criteria for tobacco withdrawal. Concordance of results among the criteria for diagnosing tobacco dependence and withdrawal was low. These results suggest that the DSM-III criteria for tobacco dependence are overinclusive and that there is little consensus among the definitions of tobacco dependence and withdrawal.

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