A three-year autoregressive cross-lagged panel analysis on nicotine dependence and average smoking.

Objectives: Previous studies have been limited to the use of cross sectional data to identify the relationships between nicotine dependence and smoking. Therefore, it is difficult to determine a causal direction between the two variables. The purposes of this study were to 1) test whether nicotine dependence or average smoking was a more influential factor in smoking cessation; and 2) propose effective ways to quit smoking as determined by the causal relations identified.