Smoking just one cigarette is all it takes to develop a daily habit. Researchers for a recent study searched global databases for studies on smoking habits worldwide, and found that two-thirds of people who had tried a cigarette had gone on to become daily smokers, even if just temporarily. The study, carried out at Queen Mary University, demonstrated ‘the remarkable hold that cigarettes can establish after a single experience’. Its authors said that the research, published in the scientific journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research, provided overwhelming support for a programme to discourage cigarette experimentation among teenagers.