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Associations between use of pharmacological aids in a smoking cessation attempt and subsequent quitting activity: a population study
Author(s) -
Ferguson Stuart G.,
Brown Jamie,
Frandsen Mai,
West Robert
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
addiction
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.424
H-Index - 193
eISSN - 1360-0443
pISSN - 0965-2140
DOI - 10.1111/add.12795
Subject(s) - varenicline , smoking cessation , medicine , nicotine replacement therapy , baseline (sea) , quit smoking , odds , population , bupropion , demography , medical prescription , odds ratio , environmental health , logistic regression , geology , oceanography , pathology , sociology , pharmacology
Background and Aims Modelling the population impact and cost‐effectiveness of smoking cessation aids is limited by lack of knowledge about how the use of aids changes across quit attempts. Here we test whether the quit method used in a previous attempt influences (i) future decisions to quit and/or (ii) treatment/s used during subsequent attempts. Design and Setting Data came from the Smoking Toolkit Study, a United Kingdom national household survey. Participants and Measures Smokers ( n = 5489) who completed a baseline and 6‐month follow‐up questionnaire. Respondents were asked what treatment/s, grouped as: prescription medication/s [bupropion, varenicline or nicotine replacement therapy (NRT)], over‐the‐counter NRT or unaided that they had used in their most recent quit attempt (at baseline), and any use of treatment/s for a quit attempt in the last 3 months at follow‐up. Results Smokers who had tried to quit at baseline were more likely to report having tried to quit again prior to follow‐up [all odds ratios ≥ 2.19 relative to no attempt at baseline, P < 0.001]. Smokers who tried to quit using pharmacological aids were more likely to try to quit again at follow‐up (all ORs ≥ 2.19 relative to no attempt at baseline, P < 0.001). Smokers tended to re‐try aids used in baseline attempts in future attempts (all ORs ≥ 1.48 relative to no attempt at baseline, P < 0.01). Conclusions Smokers who have tried to quit in the past year are more likely to try to quit again within 6 months regardless of whether they used a pharmacological aid, and they are more likely to re‐try aids they had used previously.