Social class, education, and smoking cessation: Long-term follow-up of patients treated at a smoking cessation unit.

Our objective was to examine social class and educational differences in long-term smoking cessation success among a cohort of smokers attending a specialized smoking clinic. We studied sustained abstinence after cessation among 1,516 smokers (895 men and 621 women) treated for smoking cessation between 1995 and 2001 at a university teaching hospital in the metropolitan area of Barcelona, Spain. We calculated 1-year and long-term (up to 8-year) abstinence probabilities by means of Kaplan-Meier curves and the hazard ratio of relapse by means of Cox regression, after adjusting for other predictors of relapse. Overall abstinence probability was .277 (95% CI = .254-.301). Men and women in social classes IV-V had significant hazard ratios of relapse after long-term follow-up (men: 1.36, 95% CI = 1.07-1.72; women: 1.60, 95% CI = 1.24-2.06), as compared with patients in social classes I-II. The same independent effect was observed for education: Men and women with primary or less than primary studies had higher hazard ratios of relapse (men: 1.75, 95% CI = 1.35-2.25; women: 1.92, 95% CI = 1.51-2.46), as compared with patients with a university degree. Similar estimates were obtained after adjustment for stage of change, Fagerstr?m score for nicotine dependence, and type of treatment. Patients of lower socioeconomic status are at higher risk of relapse, and this association is independent of other well-known predictors of relapse. Social differences have to be taken into account in the clinical setting when tailoring specific actions to treat smoking dependence.     

The effects of household and workplace smoking restrictions on quitting behaviours

OBJECTIVE: To assess the association of household and workplace smoking restrictions with quit attempts, six month cessation, and light smoking. DESIGN: Logistic regressions identified the association of household and workplace smoking restrictions with attempts to quit, six month cessation, and light smoking. SETTING: Large population surveys, United States. SUBJECTS: Respondents (n = 48,584) smoked during the year before interview in 1992-1993, lived with at least one other person, and were either current daily smokers or were former smokers when interviewed. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The outcome measures were an attempt to quit during the last 12 months, cessation for at least six months among those who made an attempt to quit, and light smoking (< 15 cigarettes a day). RESULTS: Smokers who lived (odds ratio (OR) = 3.86; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 3.57 to 4.18) or worked (OR = 1.14; 95% CI = 1.05 to 1.24) under a total smoking ban were more likely to report a quit attempt in the previous year. Among those who made an attempt, those who lived (OR = 1.65, 95% CI = 1.43 to 1.91) or worked (OR = 1.21, 95% CI = 1.003 to 1.45) under a total smoking ban were more likely to be in cessation for at least six months. Current daily smokers who lived (OR = 2.73, 95% CI = 2.46 to 3.04) or worked (OR = 1.53, 95% CI = 1.38 to 1.70) under a total smoking ban were more likely to be light smokers. CONCLUSIONS: Both workplace and household smoking restrictions were associated with higher rates of cessation attempts, lower rates of relapse in smokers who attempt to quit, and higher rates of light smoking among current daily smokers.     

Smoking reduction predicts cessation: longitudinal evidence from the Finnish adult twin cohort.

The aim of the study was to examine whether smoking reduction over a 6-year period (1975-1981) predicted smoking cessation 9 years later by 1990. The longitudinal data from three surveys over 15-year period among the Finnish adult twin cohort were used. The data were collected by postal surveys in 1975, 1981, and 1990, and the sample comprised 11,015 participants, of whom 2,443 were persistent current smokers in 1975 and 1981. Smoking cessation by 1990 was examined as the outcome measure. Nineteen percent reported having stopped smoking by 1990, corresponding to an approximate annual rate of smoking cessation of 2%. Those who had quit smoking by 1990 had larger decreases in smoking between 1975 and 1981. The odds ratio for quitting by 1990 increased with increasing levels of reduction in amount smoked between 1975 and 1981. This was found in both categorical and trend analyses, and when adjusting for age, sex and for amount of baseline smoking. The model among twin pairs discordant for cessation indicated that the association of smoking reduction with increased likelihood of cessation was independent of genetic or early shared family influences on smoking behavior. We conclude that smokers who are able to decrease the number of cigarettes smoked per day by at least 25% are more likely to quit later.     

Is concern about post-cessation weight gain a barrier to smoking cessation among pregnant women?

Women who quit smoking during pregnancy gain more weight than women who continue to smoke. Concern about weight gain is a barrier to smoking cessation in the general population, but whether attitudes about weight are associated with failure to stop smoking during pregnancy or to maintain abstinence postpartum is unknown. Thus, attitudes about weight were assessed in 412 pregnant smokers recruited from obstetric practices in Massachusetts for a smoking cessation intervention trial. Smoking cessation outcomes (7-day point-prevalence abstinence by self-report and by cotinine-validation) were assessed at end-of-pregnancy and 3 months postpartum. Bivariate and multivariable analyses assessed the relationship between attitudes about weight and smoking cessation. In bivariate analyses, a high level of concern about post-cessation weight gain was associated with older age (p = .01), smoking more cigarettes/day (p<.001), not making a quit attempt in pregnancy (p = .02), being less likely to self-report tobacco abstinence at end of pregnancy (p = .01) and postpartum (p = .02), and having less cotinine-validated abstinence at 3 months postpartum (p = .05). In multivariable analyses that adjusted for cigarettes/day, a low level of concern about post-cessation weight gain was associated with more self-reported abstinence at end-of-pregnancy (OR = 1.77, 95% CI 1.01-3.09) and postpartum (OR = 2.09, 95% CI 1.05-4.14), but not with cotinine-validated abstinence at end-of-pregnancy (OR = 1.30, 95% CI 0.63-2.68) or postpartum (OR = 2.18, 95% CI 0.93-5.10). In conclusion, women who are more concerned about post-cessation weight gain may be less likely to quit smoking during pregnancy or remain abstinent in the postpartum period.     

Sociodemographic predictors of success in smoking intervention

AIM: To examine the role of sociodemographic factors as predictors of sustained smoking cessation for the population who volunteer to participate in intervention programmes. METHOD: Data for the 3575 smokers who participated in the CEASE (collaborative European anti-smoking evaluation) trial, a European multicentred study that used transdermal nicotine patches as an adjunct to smoking cessation in the chest clinic, were analysed. The effects of age, sex, smoking habit, socioeconomic status (housing conditions, education, and employment), disease, smoking habits of relatives, and baseline markers of tobacco use on sustained smoking cessation (self-reported abstinence and expired carbon monoxide < 10 parts per million) were assessed using logistic regression modelling (odds ratio (OR), 95% confidence interval (CI)). RESULTS: 477/3575 smokers were sustained abstainers one year after the intervention (overall success rate 13.3%). In the univariable logistic regression models an effect of active treatment on smoking cessation was observed (OR 1.50, 95% CI 1.15 to 1.96), and additional effects on outcome were found for age (OR 1.02, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.03), sex (men v women: OR 1.38, 95% CI 1.14 to 1.68), housing conditions (OR 1.43, 95% CI 1.25 to 1.65), current respiratory (OR 0.79, 95% CI 0.67 to 0.92) or cardiac disease (OR 0.46, 95% CI 0.28 to 0.75), and markers of tobacco use (cigarettes per day: OR 0.79, 95% CI 0.69 to 0.90; expired carbon monoxide: OR 0.98, 95% CI 0.97 to 0.99). Education and employment did not have a significant effect on the outcome. The effect of the variables associated with success in smoking cessation persisted after adjustment for covariates. CONCLUSION: Age, sex, and housing conditions have a major effect on smoking cessation in European smokers participating in smoking cessation programmes.     

Prevalence of smoking and its relationship with carotid atherosclerosis in Alaskan Eskimos of the Norton Sound region: the GOCADAN study.

Since 2000, the Genetics of Coronary Artery Disease in Alaska Natives (GOCADAN) study has been collecting information on cardiovascular disease (CVD) and its risk factors from 1,214 Alaska Natives of the Norton Sound region, a population with increasing rates of heart disease and stroke. Because smoking was reported in a large proportion of the participants, this analysis was undertaken to evaluate smoking patterns and their relation to other risk factors and to CVD. The relationships among smoking habits and demographic factors, body mass index, plasma fibrinogen, prevalent hypertension, and carotid plaque were evaluated. Eighty percent of participants had smoked 100+ cigarettes in their lifetime. Fifty-seven percent of women and 63% of men (p = .12) were current smokers: one in four smokers had quit. Current smokers (OR = 2.1; 95% CI = 1.1-3.8) and those who had quit <5 years ago (OR = 1.6; 95% CI = 1.1-2.2) were more likely than non-smokers to have carotid plaque. Pack-years smoked also were correlated with carotid plaque. The high prevalence of smoking and low rates of cessation in this population demonstrate an urgent need for smoking prevention and cessation programs among Alaskan Eskimos of the Norton Sound region and other Alaska Native groups.     

Role of snus in initiation and cessation of tobacco smoking in Sweden

Objective

To examine patterns of smoking and snus use and identify individual pathways of Swedish tobacco users in order to clarify whether snus use is associated with increased or decreased smoking.

Methods

Retrospective analysis of data from a cross‐sectional survey completed by 6752 adult Swedes in 2001–2 focusing on identifying tobacco use history by survey items on current and prior tobacco use and smoking initiation and cessation procedures.

Results

15% of the men and 19% of the women completing the survey were daily smokers. 21% of the men and 2% of the women were daily snus users. Almost all (91%) male daily smoking began before the age of 23 years, whereas initiation of daily snus use continued throughout the age range (33% of initiation after age 22). 20% of male primary snus users started daily smoking compared to 47% of non‐primary snus users. Thus, the odds of initiating daily smoking were significantly lower for men who had started using snus than for those who had not (odds ratio (OR) 0.28, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.22 to 0.36). Among male primary smokers, 28% started secondary daily snus use and 73% did not. 88% of those secondary snus users had ceased daily smoking completely by the time of the survey as compared with 56% of those primary daily smokers who never became daily snus users (OR 5.7, 95% CI 4.9 to 8.1). Among men who made attempts to quit smoking, snus was the most commonly used cessation aid, being used by 24% on their latest quit attempt. Of those men who had used one single cessation aid 58% had used snus, as compared with 38% for all nicotine replacement therapy products together. Among men who used snus as a single aid, 66% succeeded in quitting completely, as compared with 47% of those using nicotine gum (OR 2.2, 95% CI 1.3 to 3.7) or 32% for those using the nicotine patch (OR 4.2, 95% CI 2.1 to 8.6). Women using snus as an aid were also significantly more likely to quit smoking successfully than those using nicotine patches or gum.

Conclusion

Use of snus in Sweden is associated with a reduced risk of becoming a daily smoker and an increased likelihood of stopping smoking.     

Are there sex differences in transdermal nicotine replacement therapy patch efficacy? A meta-analysis.

Smoking-related death and disability rates for women have risen sharply recently. Despite lower smoking cessation success rates for women using behavioral therapies, data are limited on whether specific pharmacological therapies are equally efficacious in men and women. Using meta-analytic techniques, we examined whether significant differences in therapeutic efficacy of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) for smoking cessation exist by sex. Out of the 31 randomized clinical trials of NRT that met inclusion criteria, 11 contributed to the analysis. The odds ratios for NRT vs. placebo were derived from each trial separately by sex for males and females, and these ratios were combined to give a pooled estimate of the effect of sex in response to NRT. NRT was effective at all time points in men (< 6 months: OR = 2.05, 95% CI= 1.61-2.60; 6 months: OR = 1.98, 95% CI = 1.51-2.60; 12 months: OR = 1.86, 95% CI = 1.39-2.50) and women (< 6 months: OR = 2.09, 95% CI = 1.65-2.65; 6 months, OR = 1.52, 95% CI = 1.17-1.98; 12 months: OR = 1.63, 95% CI = 1.22-2.18). At all time points, no significant difference was observed between sexes (< 6 months: OR = .97, 95% CI = .69-1.36; 6 months: OR = 1.33, 95% CI = .91-1.95; 12 months: OR = 1.21, 95% CI = .79-1.84). The results of this meta-analysis do not support the hypothesis that NRT has higher therapeutic efficacy for men than women.     

Sex differences in long-term smoking cessation rates due to nicotine patch

Compared to men, women may be at greater risk for smoking-related diseases and have greater difficulty quitting smoking. Sex differences in medication response could guide treatment for smoking cessation to improve women's quit rates. We conducted a meta-analysis of the 14 placebo-controlled nicotine patch trials (N = 6,250) for which long-term (6 months) clinical outcome results could be determined separately by sex. This analysis updated a meta-analysis of 11 of these trials that found no significant sex differences due to nicotine patch. The increase in quitting due to the nicotine vs. placebo patch was only about half as large in women as in men. Pooled absolute quit rates at 6 months for nicotine and placebo patch, respectively, were 20.1% and 10.8% in men, and 14.7% and 10.1% in women. The odds ratio for quitting due to nicotine vs. placebo patch was lower in women (OR = 1.61) than in men (OR = 2.20), with an interaction odds ratio of 1.40 (95% CI = 1.02-1.93, p = .04). This sex difference did not vary significantly by whether or not formal counseling was provided. Poorer outcomes in women vs. men treated with nicotine patch suggests that increasing the quit rates of women smokers may require supplementing patch treatment or use of other medications.     

Passive smoking as well as active smoking increases the risk of acute stroke

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the relative risk of stroke associated with exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS, passive smoking) and to estimate the risk of stroke associated with current smoking (active smoking) using the traditional baseline group (never-smokers) and a baseline group that includes lifelong non-smokers and long-term (> 10 years) ex-smokers who have not been exposed to ETS. DESIGN AND SETTING: Population-based case-control study in residents of Auckland, New Zealand. SUBJECTS: Cases were obtained from the Auckland stroke study, a population-based register of acute stroke. Controls were obtained from a cross-sectional survery of major cardiovascular risk factors measured in the same population. A standard questionnaire was administered to patients and controls by trained nurse interviewers. RESULTS: Information was available for 521 patients with first-ever acute stroke and 1851 community controls aged 35-74 years. After adjusting for potential confounders (age, sex, history of hypertension, heart disease, and diabetes) using logistic regression, exposure to ETS among non-smokers and long-term ex-smokers was associated with a significantly increased risk of stroke (odds ratio (OR) = 1.82; 95% confidence interval (95% CI) = 1.34 to 2.49). The risk was significant in men (OR = 2.10; 95% CI = 1.33 to 3.32) and women (OR = 1.66; 95% CI = 1.07 to 2.57). Active smokers had a fourfold risk of stroke compared with people who reported they had never smoked cigarettes (OR = 4.14; 95% CI = 3.04 to 5.63); the risk increased when active smokers were compared with people who had never smoked or had quit smoking more than 10 years earlier and who were not exposed to ETS (OR = 6.33; 95% CI = 4.50 to 8.91). CONCLUSIONS: This study is one of the few to investigate the association between passive smoking and the risk of acute stroke. We found a significantly increased risk of stroke in men and in women. This study also confirms the higher risk of stroke in men and women who smoke cigarettes compared with non-smokers. The stroke risk increases further when those who have been exposed to ETS are excluded from the non-smoking reference group. These findings also suggest that studies investigating the adverse effects of smoking will underestimate the risk if exposure to ETS is not taken into account.     

Staying smoke free: an intervention to prevent postpartum relapse.

This pilot study evaluated the effectiveness of a nurse-delivered home-visiting program during the postpartum period that included a low-intensity smoking relapse-prevention intervention. A prospective two-group design was used. Participants were women who had quit smoking during their pregnancy. They were invited to participate during postpartum hospitalization on a university hospital postpartum ward. A brief intervention during postpartum hospitalization, a home visit, and two follow-up phone calls over a 1- to 2-month period were compared with a routine home visit without any prescribed focus on tobacco use. The main outcome was biochemically verified smoking abstinence at 3 and 6 months postenrollment. Abstinence was defined as a salivary cotinine level of 14 ng/ml or less. At 3 months postenrollment, 26.4% of the intervention group were classified as abstinent, compared with 12.4% of the comparison group (OR = 2.4, 95% CI = 1.16-4.98). At 6 months, the proportion of the intervention group categorized as abstinent was 21.5%, compared with 10.2% of comparison group participants (OR = 2.5, 95% CI = 1.13-5.71). Greater than three times as many in the intervention group remained abstinent at both times (18.2%), compared with the comparison group (5.2%; OR = 2.4, 95% CI = 1.16-4.93). The effectiveness of this brief, low-cost, and potentially replicable intervention in improving the rate of persistent postpartum smoke-free status for women who quit smoking during pregnancy is encouraging. A randomized trial of the approach is warranted.     

Medicaid reimbursement for prenatal smoking intervention influences quitting and cessation

Background

40% of births in the USA are covered by Medicaid and smoking is prevalent among recipients. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between levels of Medicaid coverage for prenatal smoking cessation interventions on quitting during pregnancy and maintaining cessation after delivery.

Methods

Population based survey study of 7513 post‐partum women from 15 states who: participated in Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) during 1998–2000; smoked at the beginning of their pregnancy; and had Medicaid coverage. Participating states were categorised into three levels of Medicaid coverage for smoking cessation interventions during prenatal care: extensive (pharmacotherapies and counselling); some (pharmacotherapies or counselling); or none. Quit rates among women who smoked before pregnancy and rates of maintaining cessation were examined.

Results

Higher levels of coverage during prenatal care for smoking cessation interventions were associated with higher quit rates; 51%, 43%, and 39% of women quit in states with extensive, some, and no coverage, respectively. Compared to women in states with no coverage, women in states with extensive coverage had 1.6 times the odds of quitting smoking (odds ratio (OR) 1.58, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.00 to 2.49). Maintenance of cessation after delivery was associated with extensive levels of Medicaid coverage; 48% of women maintained cessation in states with extensive coverage compared to 37% of women in states with no coverage. Compared to women in states with no coverage, women with extensive coverage had 1.6 times the odds of maintaining cessation (OR 1.63, 95% CI 1.04 to 2.56).

Conclusions

Prenatal Medicaid coverage for both pharmacotherapies and counselling is associated with higher rates of quitting and continued cessation. This suggests policymakers can promote cessation by broadening smoking cessation services in Medicaid prenatal coverage.     

Intermittent and daily smokers: two different socioeconomic patterns, and diverging influence of social participation

OBJECTIVE: To investigate socioeconomic differences in intermittent and daily smoking, and to assess the association between social participation and these two smoking behaviours. DESIGN/SETTING/PARTICIPANTS/MEASUREMENTS: A population of 11 837 individuals interviewed in 1992-94, aged 45-64 years, was investigated in this cross sectional study. A multivariate logistic regression model was used to assess socioeconomic differences in daily and intermittent smoking, adjusting for age, country of origin, previous/current diseases, and marital status. Finally, social participation as a measure of social capital was introduced in the multivariate model. RESULTS: When unskilled manual workers were compared to high level non-manual employees, odds ratios of 2.3 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.7 to 3.0) for men and 1.9 (95% CI 1.4 to 2.5) for women were found in regard to daily smoking, but odd ratios of only 0.7 (95% CI 0.4 to 1.2) for men and 1.3 (95% CI 0.7 to 2.4) for women were found in regard to intermittent smoking. A decrease in the daily smoking odds ratios was found when social participation was introduced in the model, while the odds ratios regarding intermittent smoking were unaffected. CONCLUSIONS: There were no socioeconomic differences in intermittent smoking and no association with social participation, a result that contrasts sharply with the patterns of daily smoking. These findings have important implications for the discussion concerning social capital and preventive measures.     

Cigarette smoking and quitting behaviors among unemployed adults in the United States.

Little is known about factors associated with smoking among the unemployed. This study estimated the prevalence of smoking and examined sociodemographic factors associated with current, former, and successful quitting among unemployed adults aged 18-64. Cross-sectional data on 13,480 participants in the 1998-1999 and 2001-2002 Tobacco Use Supplements to the Current Population Surveys were analyzed. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to examine factors associated with study outcomes (current vs. never, former vs. current, successful quitter vs. other former smoker). Among the unemployed, 35% were current smokers and 13% were former smokers. Of the former smokers, 81% quit successfully for at least 12 months. Participants with family incomes of less than US$25,000 were more likely than those with incomes of $50,000 or more to currently smoke (OR=2.13, 95% CI=1.85-2.46). Service workers and blue-collar workers were less likely than white-collar workers to report former smoking. Participants unemployed for 6 months or more were twice as likely as those unemployed for less than 6 months to quit successfully (OR=2.05, 95% CI=1.07-3.95). Unemployed blue-collar workers had a greater odds ratio of successfully quitting than white-collar workers (OR=1.83, 95% CI=1.17-2.87). Smoking rates were high among the unemployed, and quitting behaviors varied by sociodemographic factors and length of unemployment. Studies are needed to examine the feasibility of cessation interventions for the unemployed.     

Cholecystokinin C-45T polymorphism and smoking cessation in women.

In view of the effect of cholecystokinin (CCK) on dopaminergic neurons in the mesolimbic "reward" pathway of the brain, its gene has been a focus in studies of dopamine-related conditions and behaviors, including smoking. We assessed the association between the CCK C-45T polymorphism and smoking cessation among women who participated in a randomized clinical trial of d,l-fenfluramine conducted in the Seattle area in 1993-1994. Several years later (Mdn = 3.3 years, range = 2.4-6.9 years), 593 women provided a biological specimen and updated information about smoking habits. We defined short-term quitting as not smoking for at least 7 days immediately preceding the final (12-month) clinical trial visit, and long-term quitting as not smoking for at least the 6-month interval before the later recontact. CCK C-45T was not associated with either short-term (relative risk [RR] associated with the presence of T allele = 0.9, 95% CI = 0.6-1.4) or long-term (RR = 1.0, 95% CI = 0.6-1.5) smoking cessation. Also, we observed no association of this polymorphism with smoking cessation in subgroups of women defined by age or body mass index. No clear differences were found in smoking cessation rates associated with the presence of the T allele among women treated with d,l-fenfluramine versus those randomized to placebo. Our results fail to support prior evidence of an association of the CCK C-45T polymorphism with the ability to quit smoking.     

Smoking cessation patterns and predictors among adult Californians of Korean descent.

This paper describes smoking cessation among adult California residents of Korean descent, based on a telephone survey (N = 2,830). The overall quit rate (number of former smokers divided by number of ever-smokers) was 55.0% (55.8% among males and 49.6% among females). Acculturation was negatively associated with 90-day abstinence after controlling for demographic, social support, health belief, environmental, lifestyle, and respiratory illness history variables (OR = 0.59, 95% CI = 0.38-0.91). Those with lower acculturation, higher body mass index, a social network discouraging smoking, home smoking restriction, correct beliefs about smoking harm, and significant concern about one's health were most likely to quit smoking for 90 days or longer. Results suggest that social and situational conditions should be included in the design of smoking cessation interventions among Koreans.     

Validity of self-reported smoking status: Comparison of patients admitted to hospital with acute coronary syndrome and the general population

Many studies rely on self-reported smoking status. We hypothesized that patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), a smoking-related condition, would be more prone to misclassify themselves as ex-smokers, because of pressure to quit. We compared patients admitted with ACS with a general population survey conducted in the same country at a similar time. We determined whether ACS patients who classified themselves as ex-smokers (n = 635) were more likely to have cotinine levels suggestive of smoking deception than self-reported ex-smokers in the general population (n = 289). On univariate analysis, the percentage of smoking deceivers was similar among ACS patients and the general population (11% vs. 12%, p = .530). Following adjustment for age, sex and exposure to environmental tobacco smoke, ACS patients were significantly more likely to misclassify themselves (adjusted OR = 14.06, 95% CI 2.13-93.01, p = .006). There was an interaction with age whereby the probability of misclassification fell significantly with increasing age in the ACS group (adjusted OR = 0.95, 95% CI 0.93-0.97, p<.001), but not in the general population. Overall, smoking deception was more common among ACS patients than the general population. Studies comparing patients with cardiovascular disease and healthy individuals risk introducing bias if they rely solely on self-reported smoking status. Biochemical confirmation should be undertaken in such studies.     

Efficacy of naltrexone in smoking cessation: a preliminary study and an examination of sex differences.

This double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial evaluated the efficacy of naltrexone as an adjunct to standard smoking cessation treatment. Participants (N = 110) were adult male and female nicotine-dependent smokers who expressed interest in quitting smoking. All subjects received six sessions of behavioral counseling (1 hr/session for 6 weeks), and 1 month of the nicotine patch (21 mg for the first 2 weeks, 14 mg the third week, 7 mg the fourth week). Subjects were randomly assigned to the naltrexone or placebo group. The naltrexone group started at 25 mg daily for 3 days prior to the quit date, and increased to 50 mg/day on the quit date and following 8 weeks. At the end of medication treatment, the naltrexone group had better quit rates versus the placebo group (48% quit on naltrexone vs. 41% on placebo), but this difference was not statistically significant. However, men and women differed on several measures: in the placebo group, women had significantly lower quit rates than men (39% vs. 67%, p<.05), but in the naltrexone group, women had quit rates comparable with those of men (58% vs. 62%, p = ns). Further examination revealed that naltrexone significantly reduced men's and women's cessation-related weight gain and selectively reduced women's urge to smoke to relieve negative affect and withdrawal. The results suggest continued examination of naltrexone as an adjunct in smoking cessation, particularly in female smokers, who have historically shown worse outcomes with traditional treatment methods.     

Subtyping general population smokers not intending to quit by stages to reduce smoking.

The present study proposes target groups for preventive measures in smokers not intending to quit based on the intention to reduce smoking using the stages of change concept. Smokers were identified within a representative general population sample (T1; N=4,075) and assessed after 30 months (T2; N=913) and 36 months (T3; N=786). The cross-sectional analyses of the present study included at T2 677 smokers not intending to quit within the next 6 months (cessation-precontemplation stage). The prospective analyses were based on 584 of these smokers who were followed up at T3. At T2, 9.1% intended to reduce substantially within the next 6 months (reduction-contemplation stage), 1.2% intended to reduce substantially within the next 4 weeks (reduction-preparation stage), 3.7% had already reduced for up to 6 months (reduction-action stage), and 8.2% had maintained reduction for more than 6 months (reduction-maintenance stage). Subjects in the different reduction stages differed with respect to previous quit or reduction attempts, degree of nicotine dependence, and amount of cigarette consumption. Advanced reduction stages were significantly associated with increased chance of future reduction attempts. Future progress in the cessation stages (OR=4.7, 95% CI=1.5-13.1) and future quit attempts (OR=4.8, 95% CI=1.3-15.2) were significantly more likely for those in the reduction-action stage compared with the reduction-precontemplation stage. Analyses separating the components of the stage measure revealed further need for the validation of the common operational definition. In conclusion, a substantial subgroup of smokers not intending to quit could be subtyped by the reduction stages and might be accessible by smoking-reduction interventions. Our data did not support an undermining effect associated with later reduction stages with respect to future quit attempts and progress within the cessation stages.     

A pilot study of smoking and associated behaviors of low-income expectant fathers.

Pregnancy is considered a teachable moment for helping women who smoke to quit, yet few studies have examined smoking behavior of expectant fathers. The present study considers the possibility that pregnancy is a teachable moment for expectant fathers as well and describes smoking and associated behaviors of men during their partner's pregnancy. Participants were 138 low-income men living with their pregnant partners. Using telephone interviews, we found 63% of the men had smoked at least 100 cigarettes in their lifetime. Current smoking was reported by 49.3% of expectant fathers (39.1% daily smoking; 10.2% some days). Expectant fathers' current smoking was associated with having a lower level of education (p<.0001), pregnant partner being a current smoker (p=.0002), higher quantity of alcohol consumption per day of drinking (p=.0003), and absence of smoking prohibitions inside the home (p<.0001). In the past year, 70.1% of the current smokers tried to quit. We found high rates of smoking in low-income expectant fathers, and an expectant father's smoking during his partner's pregnancy was associated with his pregnant partner continuing to smoke. A majority of expectant fathers identified as current smokers tried to quit in the past year or indicated an intention to quit in the near future. Intervention during pregnancy that targets pregnant women and expectant fathers who smoke could lead to more households without tobacco use and thus have positive implications for paternal, maternal, and family health. Further clinical and research attention is needed to address the smoking behaviors of both expectant fathers and their pregnant partners.