Longest Prior Abstinence and Cessation of Smoking

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between cigarette smokers' longest prior abstinence and cessation maintenance for a current attempt. 66 adult smokers were blocked on their longest prior abstinence, i.e., (1) had never quit, (2) had quit up to 1 mo., (3) had quit for 1 mo. up to one year, (4) had quit 1 yr. or more, and randomly assigned to two social-learning-based treatments. Subjects who had more prior experience with abstinence, especially 1 yr. or more, smoked less and were more often abstinent than subjects with less or no prior experience. At 3 mo. posttreatment, non-smokers had four times as much prior experience with abstinent behavior as smokers. The implications of these findings for research on cessation of smoking are discussed.