Do environmental cues prompt attempts to stop smoking? A prospective natural history study

Abstract

Introduction We prospectively tested whether environmental cues prompts attempts to stop smoking. Methods We recruited 134 smokers who intended to quit in the next 3 months to complete nightly calls to report cues as well as smoking status, intentions to smoke or not on the next day, and quit attempts over 12 weeks. We provided no treatment. Results Participants averaged 6.5 cues/week. The most common cues were embarrassment, cost of cigarettes and messages in the media. The number of cues over a 7-day period predicted the incidence of a quit attempt on the eighth day (e.g. from 1.5% when no cues occurred to 3% when 7 cues occurred during the 7 days). This effect was dose-dependent and was due to both between and within-subject predictors. Five cues predicted quit attempts. A cue that made smokers concerned about the cost of cigarettes appeared to be the strongest cue. Cues on the day prior were not more powerful predictors than more distal cues. Intention to not smoke the next day on the evening prior to the eighth day was a partial mediator of the effect of cues on quit attempts. Retrospective recall of cues was poor. Conclusions Our results suggest the occurrence of cues may be a cause of quit attempts and that programs to increase the frequency of cues may increase quit attempts. Further research should examine whether environmental cues and introspective states (e.g. self-efficacy) interact to prompt quit attempts.

Environmental cues and attempts to change in daily cannabis users: An intensive longitudinal study

“…Our results can be seen as a conceptual replication of our prior study of the effect of cues on tobacco users contemplating quitting (Hughes et al, 2015). The present results replicate the tobacco study’s finding that the number of prompting cues predicted an attempt to change in a dose-related manner and that several specific cues predicted future change.…”

“…We previously undertook this experimental method among tobacco smokers and found the greater the number of cues over 7 days, the more likely a quit attempt would occur on the 8 th day. We also found five specific cues that predicted making a quit attempt (Hughes et al, 2015). The current study uses that same design to test whether environmental cues can predict an attempt to stop or reduce cannabis use.…”

“…Existing studies used retrospective reports, which are often inaccurate due both to poor memory and systematic bias (Hammersley, 1994; Shiffman et al, 1997). For example, in a recent prospective study, embarrassment about tobacco smoking was the strongest predictor of a tobacco quit attempt (Hughes et al, 2015), yet was not even listed as a possible reason in national polls of reasons for cessation. (http://www.gallup.com/poll/1717/tobacco-smoking.aspx)…”

Abstinence expectancies and quit attempts

“…The methods of our observational study are described in more detail in our prior publications (Hughes JR et al, 2014; Hughes, Naud, Fingar, Callas, & Solomon, 2015). The study was approved by the University of Vermont Committees on the Use of Human Participants and was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT00995644).…”

Are anti-smoking social norms associated with tobacco control mass media campaigns, tax and policy changes? Findings from an Australian serial cross-sectional population study of smokers

“…In addition to these direct effects, tobacco control mass media campaigns and policy changes are thought to influence broader social norms about smoking, with these social norm changes motivating smokers to quit and helping them to stay quit 16–19. There is good evidence to indicate smokers who perceive more negative social norms about smoking are more likely to intend,20–24 attempt to quit23–28 and report long-term abstinence,25 29 and that pro-smoking social norms can inhibit cessation 21. There is less evidence demonstrating which types of campaigns and policy changes can influence anti-smoking social norms 21 25 28 30 31…”