One of the social identities held by people is defined by whether or not they smoke cigarettes. Although this identity can and does change for many people over the course of their lives, most research has not examined the effects of transitioning from a smoker to a non-smoker. Using a life span perspective, our analyses contrasted the extent to which successful aging is experienced by: (1) persons who ever smoked and those who never smoked; (2) former smokers and current smokers; and (3) persons who transitioned from being a smoker to being a non-smoker at different ages. Using data from a random sample of 5,688 persons between the ages of 50 and 74 living in New Jersey, we found that persons who never smoked were most likely to age successfully; there were no differences in patterns of successful aging when all former smokers were compared to current smokers; and persons who quit smoking before age 30 experienced modest benefits compared with those who continued to smoke.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BalmfordJ., & BorlandR. (2008). What does it mean to want to quit?Drug and Alcohol Review, 27, 21–27.
2.
BlumbergS. J., & LukeJ. V. (2007). Wireless substitution: Early release of estimates based on data from the National Health Interview Survey, July-December 2006. Washington, DC: National Center for Health Statistics.
3.
BrittonA.ShipleyM.Singh-ManouxA., & MarmotM. (2008). Successful aging: The contribution of early-life and midlife risk factors. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 56(6), 1098–1105. doi: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2008.01740.x
4.
Centers for Disease Control (CDC). (2010). Vital signs: Current cigarette smoking among adults aged ≥18 years—United States, 2009. MMWR, 59(35), 1135–1140. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/pdf/wk/mm5935.pdf
5.
DeppC. A., & JesteD. V. (2006). Definitions and predictors of successful aging: A comprehensive review of larger quantitative studies. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 14(1), 6–20. Retrieved from http://focus.psychiatryordme.org/cgi/reprmt/7/1/137
6.
de Miguel DiezJ.Esteban y PenaM. M.MaestuPuente L.BarreraHernandez V.GarridoCarrasco P.WaltherAlvarez-Sala L. A. (2010). Relationship between tobacco consumption and health-related quality of life in adults living in a large metropolitan area. Lung, 188, 393–399. doi: 10.1007/s00408-010-9256-1
7.
DollR.PetoR.BorehamJ., & SutherlandI. (2004). Mortality in relation to smoking: 50 years' observations on male British doctors. British Medical Journal, 328, 1–9. doi: 10.1136/bmj.38142.554479.AE.
8.
GalanisD. J.PetrovitchH.LaunerL. J.HarrisT. B.FoleyD. J., & WhiteL. R. (1997). Smoking history in middle age and subsequent cognitive performance in elderly Japanese-American men. The Honolulu-Asia Aging Study. American Journal of Epidemiology, 145, 507–515.
9.
HaasA. L.EngC.DowlingG.SchmittE., & HallS. M. (2005). The relationship between smoking history and current functioning in disabled community-living older adults. Annuals of Behavioral Medicine, 29(3), 166–173. doi: 10.1207/s15324796abm2903_2
10.
Haveman-NiesA.DeGrootL., & Van StaverenW. (2003). Dietary quality, lifestyle factors and health ageing in Europe: The SENECA study. Age and Ageing, 32, 427–434. doi: 10.1093/ageing/32.4.427
11.
HHS, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2010). Results from the 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Volume I. Summary of National Findings. (Office of Applied Studies, NSDUH Series H-38A, HHS Publication No. SMA 10–4586 Findings.) Rockville, MD.
12.
KawachiI.ColditzG. A.StamferM. J.WilletW. C.MansonJ. E.RosnerB. (1993). Smoking cessation and decreased risk of stroke in women. Journal of the American Medical Association, 269(2), 232–236. doi: 10.1001/jama.1993.03500020066033
13.
KenfieldS. A.StampferM. J.RosnerB. A., & ColditzG. A. (2008). Smoking and smoking cessation in relation to mortality in women. Journal of the American Medical Association, 299(17), 2037–2047. doi: 10.1001/jama.299.17.2037
14.
LantzP. M.LynchJ. W.HouseJ. S.LepkowskiJ. M.MeroR. P.MusickM. A. (2001). Socioeconomic disparities in health change in a longitudinal study of US adults: The role of health-risk behaviors. Social Science & Medicine, 53, 29–40.
15.
LubkeG. H., & MuthénB. O. (2005). Investigating population heterogeneity with factor mixture models. Psychological Methods, 10, 21–39. doi: 10.1037/1082-989X.10.1.21
16.
LubkeG. H., & MuthénB. O. (2007). Performance of factor mixture models as a function of covariate effects, model size, and class-specific parameters. Structural Equation Modeling, 14, 26–47. doi: 10.1207/s15328007sem1401_2
17.
MaxwellC. J., & HirdesJ. P. (1993). The prevalence of smoking and implications for quality of life among the community-based elderly. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 9(6), 338–345.
18.
MesserK.TrinidadD. R.Al-DelaimyW. K., & PierceJ. P. (2008). Smoking cessation rates in the United States: A comparison of young adult and older smokers. American Journal of Public Health, 98(2), 317–322. doi 10.2105/AJPH.2007.112060
19.
MoanI. S., & RiseJ. (2005). Quitting smoking: Applying an extended version of the theory of planned behavior to predict intention and behavior. Journal of Applied Biobehavioral Research, 10(1), 39–68. doi: 10.1111/j.1751-9861.2005.tb00003.x
20.
MuthénB. (2001). Second-generation structural equation modeling with a combination of categorical and continuous latent variables: New opportunities for latent class/latent growth modeling. In CollinsL. M. & SayerA. (Eds.), New methods for the analysis of change (pp. 291–322). Washington, DC: APA.
21.
MuthénB., & MuthénL. (2000). Integrating person-centered and variable-centered analysis: Growth mixture modeling with latent trajectory classes. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 24, 882–891. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1530-0277.2000.tb02070.x/pdf
22.
Nicita-MauroV.MalteseG.Nicita-MauroC.LascoA., & BasileG. (2010). Non smoking for successful aging: Therapeutic perspectives. Current Pharmaceutical Design, 16, 775–782. doi: 10.2174/138161210790883552
23.
Ossip-KleinD. J.PearsonT. A.McIntoshS., & OrleansC. T. (1999). Smoking is a geriatric health issue. Nicotine and Tobacco Research, 1, 299–300. doi: 10.1080/14622299050011421
24.
OstbyeT.TaylorD. H.KrauseK. M., & Van ScoyocL. (2002). The role of smoking and other modifiable lifestyle risk factors in maintaining and restoring lower body mobility in middle-aged and older Americans: Results from the HRS and AHEAD. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 50, 691–699.
25.
PastorD. A.BarronK. E.MillerB. J., & DavisS. L. (2007). A latent profile analysis of college students' achievement goal orientation. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 32, 8–47. doi: 10.1016/j.cedpsych.2006.10.003
26.
PruchnoR. A.Wilson-GendersonM., & CartwrightF. (2010a). A two-factor model of successful aging. Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 65B(6), 671–679. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbq051
27.
PruchnoR. A.Wilson-GendersonM.RoseM., & CartwrightF. (2010b). Successful aging: Early influences and contemporary characteristics. The Gerontologist, 50(6), 821–833. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnq041
28.
RoweJ. W., & KahnR. L. (1987). Human aging: Usual and successful. Science, 237(4811), 143–149. doi: 10.1126/science.3299702
29.
RoweJ. W., & KahnR. L. (1998). Successful aging. New York: Pantheon.
30.
SchmidtR. M. (1994). Healthy aging into the 21st century. Contemporary Gerontology, 1, 3–6.
31.
ShadelW. G.MermelsteinR., & BorrelliB. (1996). Self-concept changes over time in cognitive-behavioral treatment for smoking cessation. Addictive Behaviors, 21(5), 659–663. doi: 10.1016/0306-4603(95)00088-7
32.
StewartA. L.KingA. C.KillenJ. D., & RitterP. L. (1995). Does smoking cessation improve health-related quality-of-life?Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 17(4), 331–338. doi: 10.1007/BF02888598
33.
StovringN.AvlundK.Schultz-LarsenK., & SchrollM. (2004). The cumulative effect of smoking at age 50, 60, and 70 on functional ability at age 75. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 32, 296–302. doi: 10.1080/14034940410024176
34.
StrandB. H.MishraG.KuhD.GuralnikJ. M., & PatelK. V. (2011). Smoking history and physical performance in midlife: Results from the British 1946 birth cohort. Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences, 66A(1), 142–149. doi: 10.1093/Gerona/glq199
35.
StrandbergA. Y.StrandbergT. E.PitkalaK.SalomaaV. V.TilvisR. S., & MiettinenT. A. (2008). The effect of smoking in midlife on health-related quality of life in old age. Archives of Internal Medicine, 168(18), 1968–1974. doi: 10.1001/archinte.168.18.1968
36.
StrawbridgeW. J.CohenR. D., & ShemaS. J. (1996). Successful aging: Predictors and associated activities. American Journal of Epidemiology, 144, 135–141.
37.
SwindellW. R.EnsrudK. E.CawthonP. M.CauleyJ. A.CummingsS. R., & MillerR. A. (2010). Indicators of “healthy aging” in older women (65–69 years of age). A data-mining approach based on prediction of long term survival. BMC Geriatrics, 10(55), 1–24. doi: 10.1186/1471-2318-10-55
38.
TajfelH., & TurnerJ. C. (1986). The social identity of intergroup behavior. In WorchelS. & AustinW. (Eds.), The psychology of intergroup relations (pp. 7–24). Chicago, IL: Nelson Hall.
39.
TranahG. J.HollyE. A.WangF., & BracciP. M. (2011). Cigarette, cigar, and pipe smoking, passive smoke exposure, and risk of pancreatic cancer: A population-based study in the San Francisco Bay Area. BMC Cancer, 11(138), 1–8. doi: 10.1186/1471-2407-11-138
40.
TwardellaD.LoweM.RothenbacherD.StegmaierC.ZieglerH., & BrennerH. (2006). The diagnosis of smoking-related disease is a prominent trigger for smoking cessation in a retrospective cohort study. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 59, 82–89.
41.
Van Den PutteB.YzerM.WillemsenM. C., & de BruijnG. J. (2009). The effects of smoking self-identity and quitting self-identity on attempts to quit smoking. Health Psychology, 28(5), 535–544. doi: 10.1037/a0015199
42.
VangeliE., & WestR. (2012). Transition towards a ‘non-smoker’ identity following smoking cessation: An interpretative phenomenological analysis. British Journal of Health Psychology, 17, 171–184. doi: 10.1111/j.2044-8287. 2011.02031.x
43.
WilcoxB. J.HeQ.ChenR.YanoK.MasakiK. H.GroveJ. S. (2006). Midlife risk factors and healthy survival in men. Journal of the American Medical Association, 296(19), 2343–2350. doi: 10.1001/jama.296.19.2343
44.
WillJ. C.GaluskaD. A.FordE. S.MokdadA., & CalleE. E. (2001). Cigarette smoking and diabetes mellitus: Evidence of a positive association from a large prospective cohort study. International Epidemiological Association, 30, 540–546. doi: 10.1093/ije/30.3.540
45.
YehH-C.DuncanB. B.SchmidtInes M.WangN.-Y., & BrancatiF. L. (2010). Smoking, smoking cessation, and risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus. Annals of Internal Medicine, 152(1), 10–17. Retrieved from http://www.annals.org/content/152/1/10.full.pdf+html
