4. Nicotine Use
There have been multiple studies conducted that show there is a relationship between smoking and a person’s ACE score. The associations between the use of nicotine and those with higher ACE scores were strengthened in individuals that grew up after warnings were placed on cigarettes.
This suggests that the score on an ACE show that the vulnerability to nicotine addiction is impervious to anti-smoking educational initiatives and social pressures. Any exposure to each of the categories of the ACE increases a person’s risk of current and lifetime use of cigarettes. In fact, for each increase of the ACE score the risk of smoking increases by 20 percent to 30 percent.
Another study that was conducted showed similar results. This study found that the scores of both former and current smokers were higher. This study went as far as to suggest that there is also a correlation between a person’s ACE score and the ability to achieve smoking cessation.