Smoking Fetishism - Misdiagnosis of Capnolagnia

Misdiagnosis of Capnolagnia

The diagnostic criteria for fetishism are:

• Unusual sexual fantasies, drives or behavior occur over a time span of at least six months. Sometimes unusual sexual fantasies occur and vanish by themselves; in this case any medical treatment is not necessary.
• The affected person, her object or another person experience impairment or distress in multiple functional areas. Functional area refers to different aspects of life such as private social contacts, job, etc. It is sufficient for the diagnosis if one of the participants is being hurt or mistreated in any other way.

A misdiagnosis may occur when a hierarchical proceeding is not followed. According to the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems manual, as criteria are not repeated in sub-stages this can be mistakable to laymen or medics that have not been educated in the use of this manual.