Of a group of 312 non-Hispanic Caucasians who smoked at least one pack
per day, had unsuccessfully attempted to stop smoking, and were free
of alcohol or other drug dependence, 48.7% carried the A1 allele of th
e DRD2 gene. This was significantly greater than the 25.9% prevalence
in the 714 known non-Hispanic Caucasian controls without alcohol or dr
ug abuse, p < 10(-8), and significantly greater than in a smaller set
of our study controls. There was a significant, inverse relationship b
etween the prevalence of the D(2)A1 allele and the age of onset of smo
king, p = 0.02, and the maximum duration of time the smokers had been
able to quit smoking on their own, p = 0.02. These results suggest the
DRD2 gene is one of a multifactorial set of risk factors associated w
ith smoking.