Your Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND) score runs from 0 to 10 and describes cigarette-related nicotine dependence. The six questions use different point ranges, then combine into one total. Read the result within its five bands. It is not a diagnosis and does not select a quitting treatment, medicine, or dose.
The five FTND score bands
The NIH score record gives the five ranges below.
| Score | NIH label | Survey Doctor label |
|---|---|---|
| 0-2 | Very low | Very low |
| 3-4 | Low | Low |
| 5 | Medium | Moderate |
| 6-7 | High | High |
| 8-10 | Very high | Very high |
Survey Doctor uses “Moderate” where the NIH record uses “Medium” for a score of 5. The boundary is the same. This wording difference does not create a different scoring rule.
These labels describe a position on the scale. A score of 5 is not a universal medication threshold, and a score of 8 does not determine which type of support you need. Health history, current medicines, preferences, and previous quit attempts still matter.
Who the FTND is for
The standard FTND applies to people who currently smoke cigarettes. It does not assess every nicotine product.
Start by checking the scope.
If you vape, smoke cigars or pipes, use smokeless tobacco, or combine products, some questions may not fit your use. A different assessment may be needed.
Survey Doctor presents the six FTND questions without a separate current-smoker eligibility gate. Use the result only if you were smoking cigarettes when you answered and all six questions applied to you.
Make sure the form fits.
How six answers make a 0-to-10 total
The items do not all use the same point range. The NIH questionnaire record confirms that two questions contribute 0 to 3 points and four contribute 0 or 1 point. Adding the six values gives the 0-to-10 total.
Six answers, one total.
The questions cover behavior such as time to the first cigarette after waking, cigarettes smoked each day, and difficulty avoiding smoking in certain situations. The total summarizes that pattern. It does not measure motivation, readiness to quit, or every emotional and social reason for smoking.
Manual entry accepts one whole-number total from 0 to 10. A manual record does not contain the six answers, so confirm the source worksheet and current-cigarette scope before comparing it with a native result.
What the result cannot tell you
The FTND cannot determine:
- Which quitting option is safe or suitable
- Whether counseling or medicine is needed
- Which medicine or dose to use
- Whether a future quit attempt will succeed
- How other nicotine products affect the result
- Why smoking is difficult to change
A lower score is not a reason to dismiss support. A higher score is not a forecast of failure. Neither label can replace a conversation about health, routines, preferences, and prior experience.
That limit matters.
Using the result in a quitting conversation
Share the total with a doctor or another qualified provider if you want help quitting. Bring the six answers when possible. They may provide more useful detail than the band alone.
A fuller discussion can cover what you use now, previous attempts, current health conditions, medicines, side effects, costs, counseling, and social support. Do not start, stop, or change medication from an FTND score alone.
You can ask for support at any score. Smokefree.gov provides US public quitting resources, and a healthcare professional can help place those options in your medical context.
You can still ask.
Comparing scores over time
Use the same six-item cigarette form each time. Check that cigarette smoking still describes the person's use and that all questions were answered.
A change in total can describe a change in the reported pattern. It does not prove dependence appeared, disappeared, or improved by a clinically important amount. Survey Doctor does not apply a universal response or remission threshold to FTND results.
The bottom line
An FTND score describes cigarette-related nicotine dependence on a 0-to-10 scale. Read it within the five published ranges and confirm that the questionnaire fits your current tobacco use. Use the result as one part of a broader quitting conversation, not as a diagnosis or treatment formula.