If at first you don’t succeed, when should you try again? a prospective study of failed quit attempts and subsequent smoking cessation.

Introduction:
This text discusses a prospective study on the relationship between the time interval between quit attempts and the success rate of smoking cessation. The study aimed to determine if there was an optimal time interval that could maximize the chance of success in subsequent quit attempts.

Key Points:

* The study analyzed data from 823 smokers who had failed in a quit attempt and tried to quit again within 12 months.
* The input variable was the time interval between the end of the most recent failed quit attempt and the start of the first attempt made during the 6-month follow-up period.
* The outcome variable was success in the latter quit attempt.
* The study found that the success rates for failed quitters who waited less than 3 months, 3-6 months, and 6-12 months between their failed quit attempt ending and making a subsequent quit attempt were 13.8%, 17.5%, and 19.0%, respectively.
* after adjusting for covariates, the odds of cessation relative to those who made a subsequent quit attempt within 3 months were 1.42 (95%CI 0.79 –2.55) and 1.52 (95%CI 0.81 –2.86) for those who waited 3 –6 and 6 –12 months, respectively.
* Bayes factors indicated the data were insensitive, and the exploratory analysis showed that the odds of cessation were higher for those who waited longer between quit attempts.
* The study's main message is that while the pre-planned analyses were inconclusive, the exploratory analysis suggested that the likelihood of success of quit attempts may be positively associated with the number of months since a preceding quit attempt. however, only the longest inter-quit interval examined (12 –18 months) was associated with significantly greater odds of quit success relative to a < 3 month interval in fully adjusted models.

Main Message:

The study suggests that there may be a positive association between the time interval between quit attempts and the likelihood of success in subsequent quit attempts. however, only the longest inter-quit interval examined (12 –18 months) was associated with significantly greater odds of quit success relative to a < 3 month interval in fully adjusted models. Therefore, it may be beneficial for failed quitters to wait longer before attempting to quit again, but more research is needed to confirm these findings.

Jackson SE, West R, Brown J. If at first you don’t succeed, when should you try again? a prospective study of failed quit attempts and subsequent smoking cessation. addictive behaviors. 2020;106:106366. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2020.106366