6.8 Tobacco 'chippers'

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A 'chipper' is someone who uses a drug with a high dependence potential infrequently and intermittently, and does not experience withdrawal or other symptoms of dependence. The term was first used in relation to infrequent opiate users in the 1970s,¹ and later applied to smokers by Shiffman in 1989.²

Tobacco chippers smoke small numbers of cigarettes (1–5) regularly but differ from addicted smokers in maintaining these low levels of consumption and can abstain for considerable periods with little difficulty.³ Only a very small proportion of smokers—perhaps about 5%—are thought to fit into this category.⁴ Chippers inhale tobacco smoke in the same way as regular smokers, and their bodies metabolise nicotine in similar ways but, unlike most smokers, chippers do not report withdrawal symptoms if they do without tobacco.² Chippers start smoking later, with about 80% starting after leaving high school.⁵

Chippers appear to be protected from becoming addicted smokers by a combination of environmental, social and genetic factors. Chippers are less likely to smoke to reduce stress or improve mood, have fewer relatives who are smokers, and have higher levels of education than heavy smokers.^{2, 4} Chippers tend to smoke in situations associated with relaxation, eating and drinking, but, like heavy smokers, chippers smoke almost half of their cigarettes when alone. This makes it unlikely that chippers are simply 'social smokers'. Chippers' smoking behaviour is strongly correlated with situational stimuli, whereas in heavy smokers smoking is less influenced by the situation and more by dependence.⁶ Shiffman and colleagues observe that chippers continue to smoke in ways that regular smokers do early their smoking careers. The difference is that chippers do not progress to addictive smoking patterns, like the vast majority of smokers do.^{6, 7}

One possible explanation of these findings is that individuals who are able to use tobacco products in this way may be less sensitive to the effects of nicotine.² For example, research has suggested that chippers' initial responses to the effects of nicotine, including pleasurable or unpleasant sensations and dizziness, may be much less than that experienced by individuals who become tobacco dependent.^{2, 4}

References

1. Zinberg N and Jacobsen R. The natural history of 'chipping'. American Journal of Psychiatry 1976;133(1):37–40. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1247121

2. Shiffman S. Tobacco 'chippers' – individual differences in tobacco dependence. Psychopharmacology 1989;97(4):539–47. Available from: http://www.springerlink.com/content/xh283812kq2gw060/

3. Coggins CR, Murrelle EL, Carchman RA and Heidbreder C. Light and intermittent cigarette smokers: a review (1989–2009). Psychopharmacology 2009;207(3):343–63. Available from: http://www.springerlink.com/content/r41261h741480767/

4. Royal College of Physicians of London. Nicotine addiction in Britain. A report of the Tobacco Advisory Group of the Royal College of Physicians. London: Royal College of Physicians of London, 2000. Available from: http://www.rcplondon.ac.uk/pubs/books/nicotine/

5. Presson C, Chassin L and Sherman S. Psychosocial antecedents of tobacco chipping. Health Psychology 2002;21(4):384–92. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12090681

6. Shiffman S and Paty J. Smoking patterns and dependence: contrasting chippers and heavy smokers. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 2006;115(3):509–23. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16866591

7. Levy D, Biener L and Rigotti N. The natural history of light smokers: a population-based cohort study. Nicotine & Tobacco Research 2009;11(2):156–63. Available from: http://ntr.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/11/2/156