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. 2012 Dec;44(3):309-19.
doi: 10.1007/s12160-012-9399-9.

Life 1 year after a quit attempt: real-time reports of quitters and continuing smokers

Tanya R Schlam  1 , Megan E Piper, Jessica W Cook, Michael C Fiore, Timothy B Baker
Affiliations

Life 1 year after a quit attempt: real-time reports of quitters and continuing smokers

Tanya R Schlam et al. Ann Behav Med. 2012 Dec.

Abstract

Background: Smokers are often reluctant to quit because they fear long-lasting withdrawal. Yet little research prospectively examines smokers' withdrawal longer than 1 month post-quit.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare successful versus unsuccessful quitters' withdrawal, positive affect/pleasure, and lifestyle at 1 year post-quit.

Methods: Smokers (N = 572) in a cessation trial completed ecological momentary assessments four times a day for 1 week pre-quit, 1 week post-quit, and 1 week at 1 year post-quit.

Results: From pre-quit to 1 year later, only quitters reported sizeable declines in craving and restlessness, and fewer stressful events. At 1 year, quitters, on average, reported no significant craving. Continuing smokers reduced their cigarette consumption considerably from pre-quit to 1 year later.

Conclusions: Contrary to smokers' worries, long-term quitters reported less craving and restlessness than when they smoked (perhaps because cessation eliminates the acute nicotine withdrawal smokers experience between cigarettes). This information may encourage smokers to quit and endure withdrawal.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest Statement

Tanya R. Schlam, Megan E. Piper, Jessica W. Cook, and Timothy B. Baker have no potential conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Interaction effects showing that those abstinent versus smoking at 1 year post-quit differed in the extent to which they changed from pre-quit to 1 year post-quit in terms of their mean craving, restlessness, anger/irritability, and percentage of prompts at which smoking was permitted at their location. The interaction effect for anger/irritability (p = .012) was no longer significant after correcting for multiple comparisons. Additional analyses (not graphed here) found the interaction effect for the percentage of prompts at which smoking was permitted differed significantly as a function of treatment condition. Error bars represent SEs.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

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