Genes Affect Smoking Behavior

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According to a trio of studies published in Nature Genetics, genes may be partly to blame for smokers’ inability to quit. The researchers analyzed the DNA profiles of more than 140,000 smokers and nonsmokers. They also studied whether genetic variants affect whether people start smoking, how much they smoke and whether they are able to quit. In one study, researchers found that a single-letter change in the DNA code of chromosome 11 was strongly associated with taking up smoking and another on chromosome 9 was associated with quitting smoking.

“This lends support to the idea that smoking is not just a question of will power alone, but that genetics plays a role in how much a person smokes and their ability to quit smoking,” Dr. Helena Furberg from University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, who was involved in the research, noted in an email to Reuters Health. “We hope that our findings will help pave the way for better treatments that will help people quit smoking,” said Furberg.

While the results will not change the current approach to smoking cessation and prevention in the short term, with more research, attitudes toward smokers may be altered and tailored therapies could be created in the future.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63P3NO20100426

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