Study: Quit smoking attempts up substantially

BETHESDA, Md.  — Data from more than 40,000 adult smokers in the U.S. reveal a substantial increase in serious attempts to quit smoking between 2012 to 2014, according to a new study appearing in the journal, Addiction.



In 2014, 55% of adult smokers reported making a serious quit attempt during the previous year, up from 51% in 2011, according to an analysis of data from the National Health Interview Survey.



This is the highest rate reported since 1997. More than 22% of those who made quit attempts were not smoking at the time of interview. This increase in serious quit attempts occurred just as electronic cigarettes were beginning to be more widely used, although these data cannot be used to definitively establish cause and effect.



"We are encouraged by these data, which suggest that adult smokers are increasingly making serious quit attempts," stated  Joe Gitchell, the lead author on the paper. "These data are especially important as other studies have suggested that the percentage of smokers trying to quit had stalled," he said. "The upward inflection in serious quit attempts in 2012, and continuing through 2014, suggests that we look to important changes in the environment that could have prompted more smokers to try to quit. Factors that may have been responsible include the greater awareness and use of electronic cigarettes during this same time interval."



For this study, researchers at PinneyAssociates analyzed data from the 2009-2014 NHIS, which encompassed more than 40,000 smokers who completed the questionnaire during an in-home interview. The NHIS is a multi-purpose health survey conducted by the CDC and is the principal source of information on the health of the civilian, noninstitutionalized, population of the United States.