Public Health

Tobacco smell won” trigger relapse in new quitter

November 15, 2008 on 7:00 am | In Uncategorized | NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Smokers who are trying to quit often find the scent of cigarette smoke pleasant, but new study findings suggest that it won't hinder their quit effort.

In a study of more than 1,100 smokers who had recently quit, researchers found that one quarter said that they found the scent of other people's cigarettes pleasant during their first week of abstinence.

This did not, however, seem to affect their odds of staying abstinent over the next several weeks, according to findings published in the journal Addiction.

"Recent quitters can be reassured that finding the smell of cigarette smoke pleasant is not likely to lead them back to smoking," lead researcher Dr. Hayden McRobbie, of the University of Auckland in New Zealand, told Reuters Health.

Still, that does not necessarily mean that newly abstinent smokers should make weekend plans with people who are still lighting up. Past studies have found that in the early stages of a quit attempt, a number of triggers may push some people toward relapse -- including watching other people smoke.

"People who are quitting should do evhaving a single puff," McRobbie advised. "If this means staying away from temptations, such as other people's cigarette smoke, then they should do this -- it will only be for the short-term."

For their study, McRobbie and his colleagues followed 1,110 men and women who had completed a smoking cessation program at the same London clinic.

After their quit date, participants filled out weekly questionnaires that asked them to rate the extent to which they found other people's cigarette smoke "pleasant" or "tempting." During their first week of abstinence, 23 percent said they found the smell of smoke to be pleasant, while 43 percent found it unpleasant and the remaining one- third had a neutral opinion.

The researchers found no clear differences among the three groups in the odds of remaining abstinent for the next three weeks.

On the other hand, just over half of the study group said that they found cigarette smoke tempting during their first quit week -- and this did seem to increase their risk of relapsing the following week. However, this effect was no longer seen once smokers got past their second week of abstinence.

SOURCE: Addiction, November 2008.

Copyright © 2008 Reuters Limited.