Reasons for quitting smoking in young adult cigarette smokers.

BACKGROUND: Although most young adult smokers want to quit smoking, few can do so successfully. Increased understanding of reasons to quit in this age group could help tailor interventions, but few studies document reasons to quit in young adults or examine reasons to quit by smoker characteristics. METHODS: In 2011-12, 311 current smokers (age 22-28, M=24.1; 48.9% male, 51.1% female; 50.4% daily smokers) from the Nicotine Dependence in Teens Study completed the Adolescent Reasons for Quitting scale. We assessed differences in the importance of 15 reasons to quit by sex, education, smoking frequency, quit attempt in the past year, perceived difficulty in quitting, and motivation to quit. We also examined differences between participants who discounted the importance of long-term health risks and those who acknowledged such risks. RESULTS: Concerns about getting sick or still smoking when older were considered very important by >70% of participants. Median scores were higher among daily smokers, those who had tried to quit or who expressed difficulty quitting, and those with strong motivation to quit. Discounters (14.5% of participants) were primarily nondaily, low-consumption smokers. Their Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence scores did not differ from non-discounters', and 11% (vs. 35.7% of non-discounters) were
Authors (Zotero)
Wellman, Robert J.; O'Loughlin, Erin K.; Dugas, Erika N.; Montreuil, Annie; Dutczak, Hartley; O'Loughlin, Jennifer
Date (Zotero)
February, 2018