Why do people continue to smoke?

In the last two decades, there have been dramatic reductions in smoking in adults in Australia. However, there is still a core group of smokers from every socioeconomic group with no identifiable psychosocial factor in common except for smoking behaviour. This problematic group of smokers, seemingly impervious to Quit campaigns, has led researchers to investigate more intensely the origin and treatment of nicotine addiction and tobacco dependence. This article asserts that nicotine dependence is a disease with a probable genetic basis and reviews the available treatments for this addiction.