The role of desire over obligation in explaining continued smoking abstinence

Abstract

Abstract Objective: To assess the role of self-reported desire over obligation in explaining continued smoking abstinence in recent ex-smokers. Method: A 12-month prospective study of 230 (45.2% female; mean age 45.4 years) adults in England who confirmed they had made a serious quit attempt and were not currently smoking at baseline. The predictor variable was assessed at baseline through responses to the statement: “I am stopping smoking because I want to rather than because I feel I have to” on a 7-point Likert scale (1 = ‘strongly disagree’; 7 = ‘strongly agree’). The outcome was smoking status at 12-month follow-up. Covariates were baseline sociodemographic and smoking-related characteristics. Associations were assessed with logistic regression. Results: At 12-month follow-up, 59.1% (n=136) reported they were still not smoking and 40.9% (n=94) had restarted smoking. Longer time since quit was positively associated with quit success maintenance at 12-months (adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) 1.28, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 1.04-1.58). People who were more strongly motivated to quit by desire were equally or less likely to still be abstinent at 12-months than those who were more motivated by obligation (AOR 0.85, 95%CI 0.70-1.01). Conclusion: Being motivated by desire does not appear to be positively associated with continued smoking abstinence at 12-month follow-up. By contrast, our findings indicate that obligation may play a role in sustaining quit attempts, but more data across multiple time points are needed to understand this association.