Many lighter smokers can be addicted to cigarettes Even people who consider themselves to be casual cigarette smokers may be addicted, according to current diagnostic criteria. Researchers at Penn State College of Medicine and Duke University found that many light smokers -- those who smoke one to four cigarettes per day or fewer -- meet the criteria for nicotine addiction and should therefore be considered for treatment. In the past, some considered that only patients who smoke around 10 cigarettes per day or more were addicted, and I still hear that sometimes. But this study demonstrates that many lighter smokers, even those who do not smoke every day, can be addicted to cigarettes. It also suggests that we need to be more precise when we ask about cigarette smoking frequency."