"Sick" or "hooked": smokers' perception of their addiction.

A postal questionnaire was completed by 127 female and 89 male smokers (mean age 32.32 yrs) who had contacted a TV company for help with stopping smoking. Ss recorded how well each of 20 statements described their feelings about their own smoking. These responses were submitted to a principal components analysis that revealed 2 interpretable factors. The first (Sick) reflected a tendency to see smoking as a sickness and a greater concern over health consequences. The second (Hooked) reflected a feeling of inability to give up smoking and a resentment at others' attempts at dissuasion. Ss with higher Sick factor scores perceived greater potential benefit in their stopping in terms of a reduction of risk of cancer. Higher Hooked factor scores were given by females, older smokers, those who described themselves as more extremely addicted, and those who saw less benefit for themselves in stopping.