Association between positivity and smoking cessation.

The literature documents that personality characteristics are associated with healthy lifestyles, including smoking. Among positive traits, Positivity (POS), defined as a general disposition conducive to facing experience under a positive outlook has shown robust associations with psychological health. Thus, the present study investigated the extent to which POS is able to predict (i) relapse after quitting smoking and (ii) the desire to smoke again. All participants (481) had previously attended a Group Counselling Program (GCP) for Smoking Cessation (from 2005 through 2010). They were contacted through telephone interview. Among participants, 244 were ex-smokers (age: years 56.3 ± 10.08, 52% female) and 237 were still-smokers (age: years 55.0 ± 9.63; 63.5% female). The association of POS with "craving to smoke" levels was assessed with multivariate linear regression analysis while controlling also for important differences in personality such as conscientiousness and general self-efficacy, as well as for gender and age. Results showed that POS was significantly and negatively associated with smoking status and with craving to smoke. Among covariates (i.e., conscientiousness, generalized self-efficacy), gender was associated with smoking status and with craving to smoke. Altogether these findings corroborate the idea that POS plays a significant role in sustaining individuals' efforts to quit smoking.

Predictors of success in smoking cessation among Italian adults motivated to quit.

We examined the role of sexual gender, age, working status, education, cigarettes per day, Fagerström test, age of onset, pharmacologic intervention (bupropion or varenicline), 10 sessions of cognitive-behavioral group counseling therapy (GCT) conducted over 6 weeks, and level of attendance of the counseling program as predictors of smoking cessation on 1282 Italian adult smokers. Results of a multi-variate forward stepwise conditional logistic analysis, at the first step, indicate that subjects who attended the program from 4 to 6 sessions and from 1 to 3 sessions, respectively, resulted about 3 times and 24 times more likely to smoke than those attending from 7 to 10 sessions; at the second step, subjects with high Fagerström score were 2 times more likely to smoke than subjects with low/middle Fagerström; at the third step, subjects treated only with GCT were 2 times more likely to smoke than subjects with combined pharmacologic interventions and GCT; at the fourth step, subjects with age of onset less than 17 years were 1.5 times more likely to smoke than subjects with a higher age of onset; eventually, at the fifth step women resulted 1.5 times more likely to smoke than men. In conclusion, we found that a steady attendance of the cognitive behavioral program, as well as the addition of pharmacologic interventions to counseling, remarkably increased the probability of the smoking cessation behavior to be determined. Nevertheless, FTQ was a valid measure in predicting the smoking cessation, and women revealed to be more likely to keep the smoking behavior, as well as subjects who declared an age of onset less than 17 years.

Effectiveness of varenicline for smoking cessation: a 1-year follow-up study.

We examined the rate of smoking cessation associated with 6 weeks of group counseling therapy (GCT) given alone or in combination with 12 weeks of varenicline (VAR) in 112 smokers. Follow-ups were conducted at 12, 26, and 52 weeks post enrollment. Since participants chose the treatment, differences between the two groups were adjusted using propensity matching. Only 33.3% completed VAR treatment, yet at 1 year, the abstinence rate among participants who were not compliant was not different from subjects who were compliant. VAR resulted in a 23% improvement in the abstinence rates at 26 and 52 weeks (GCT + VAR rates were 62.5% and 56.3%, respectively; GCT-only rates were 39.6% and 33.3%, respectively). Increased carbon monoxide concentration, cigarette consumption, and Beck Depression Inventory score were associated with continued smoking. In conclusion, we found that the combination of counseling and VAR is effective at promoting abstinence at 1 year even when compliance with the medication is not 100%.