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Cited by 279Smoking Behavior and CessationSubstance Abuse Treatment and OutcomesBehavioral Health and Interventions

Severity of withdrawal symptoms as a predictor of outcome of an attempt to quit smoking

West, R. J., Hajek, P., Belcher, M.·1989·Psychological Medicine
DOI 10.1017/s0033291700005705
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Abstract

In 227 smokers' clinic clients who managed at least one week of abstinence, ratings of withdrawal symptoms were used to predict subsequent return to smoking. Depression, time spent with urges to smoke, and difficulty not smoking during the first week of abstinence were significantly associated with lapse back to smoking during the second week. Depression and difficulty not smoking during the second week significantly predicted smoking status during the third week. No withdrawal symptoms during the third week were associated with a return to smoking during the fourth week. The predictive power of withdrawal symptoms was over and above that of smoke intake and dependence. The findings provide some support for the view that reduction of withdrawal symptoms may be a worthwhile target in programmes for helping smokers to quit.

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Crossref · 10.1017/s0033291700005705

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13 of 13 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • Nicotine withdrawal symptoms are a primary reason smokers fail to quit and must be alleviated to prevent early relapse.

    “The symptoms associated with nicotine withdrawal are a primary deterrent to cessation and they need to be quelled to avoid early relapse.”

    From Mechanistic insights into nicotine withdrawal (2011) · cites this paper as [25]

  • Increased severity of nicotine withdrawal predicts increased relapse rates.

    “Nicotine withdrawal symptoms are highly variable between patients and can be quite severe, with increased severity of withdrawal being predictive of increased rates of relapse [25, 27, 128–130].”

    From Mechanistic insights into nicotine withdrawal (2011) · cites this paper as [25]

  • Smoking cessation increases the severity of depression symptoms.

    “smoking cessation increases the severity of depression symptoms (Covey et al., 1997; Swan, Ward, & Jack, 1996; West, Hajek, & Belcher, 1989).”

    From Nicotine addiction and psychiatric disorders (2015) · cites this paper as West et al., 1989

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Related

Authors
West, R. J., Hajek, P., & Belcher, M.
Affiliations
University of London (GB)
Corresponding author
West, R. J.
ORCID
West, R. J.
Venue
Psychological Medicine
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Published
1989-11
Volume
19
Issue
4
Pages
981-985
ISSN
  • 0033-2917 (ISSN-L)
  • 1469-8978
DOI
10.1017/s0033291700005705
OpenAlex
W2022939260
Cited by
279
References
13
Citations by year
2025: 2 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 12 · 2015: 20 · 2014: 15 · 2013: 9 · 2012: 10
FWCI
4.46
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.cambridge.org/core/terms (unspecified, 7190 d)
Locations
  • Psychological Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Smoking Behavior and Cessation
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Behavioral Health and Interventions
Keywords
smoking cessation, withdrawal symptoms, smoking relapse, depression, smoking urges, nicotine dependence, abstinence, predictors of treatment outcome
MeSH terms
Adult, Depression, Female, Humans, Male, Nicotine, Recurrence, Smoking, Substance Withdrawal Syndrome

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