Former smokers who identify themselves as nonsmokers are more likely to remain abstinent in the medium term, according to Dr. Ildiko Tombor and associates.
Just over 80% of study participants identified as nonsmokers, with younger age and longer abstinence time independently associated. A nonsmoker identity and length of abstinence at baseline was associated with continued abstinence after 3 months; however at 6 months only baseline abstinence was associated.
“Findings from this study suggest that harnessing identity change (towards a nonsmoker identity) as part of behavioral smoking cessation support might improve the lasting success of quit attempts, and future research should explore the set of behavior change techniques that can be effective to help people achieve this by incorporating a nonsmoker self-label into a core part of their identity,” the investigators said.
Find the full study from Addictive Behaviors here .
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