Quitting on Impulse May Be Smokers' Best Bet

Unplanned attempts have high success rates, research finds.

By Karen Pallarito
HealthDay Reporter
Sunday, August 12, 2007; 12:00 AM

Copyright © 2007 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.

SUNDAY, Aug. 12 (HealthDay News) -- Smokers are often told the best way to nix their habit is to have a game plan, including a quit day and a quit strategy. But could that advice be counterproductive?

In a recent study putting that question to the test, smokers who quit spontaneously -- without advance planning -- had a greater chance of succeeding than those who planned ahead. The results, published in the British Medical Journal, seem to flout traditional smoking-cessation guidance.

Dr. Michael Siegel, a professor of social and behavioral sciences at Boston University who examines tobacco control policies and smoking behavior, said the findings make a lot of sense.

"Planned quit attempts are implemented gradually and thus the level of motivation is probably rather low," he said. "But these unplanned, sudden attempts probably reflect some sentinel event or great tension that precipitates a very high level of motivation to quit. And thus these attempts are more successful," he reasoned.

Study authors Robert West and Taj Sohal liken the unplanned quit attempt to what mathematicians call "catastrophe theory." The idea is simply this: As tensions build up, even small triggers can lead to sudden and dramatic shifts in action. In nature, such forces might lead to, say, an avalanche. In much the same way, a smoker becomes disgusted with his habit, creating tension that, eventually, triggers a split decision to kick the habit.

Siegel said the study points to the need to focus on motivating smokers to want to quit. He said there's been too much emphasis on promoting pharmaceutical aids to help people quit. "If we can get smokers motivated enough, they will succeed in quitting, regardless of the mechanism."

Thomas Glynn, director of cancer science and trends and director of international tobacco programs at the American Cancer Society in Washington, D.C., said the research is intriguing.

"What this study does is certainly require us to take a step back and look at different decision-making styles that people have," he said. But without further study bearing out these results, the cancer society would not consider revisiting its smoking cessation advice. "We certainly wouldn't want to do it on the basis of one study, particularly one that's based on retrospective data," he added.