Does consistent motivation to stop smoking improve the explanation of recent quit attempts beyond current motivation? A cross-sectional study.

Aims: In seeking to provide more accurate models of population quit attempt rates, this study assessed whether a single self-report measure of consistent motivation to stop smoking adds useful explanatory power over and above an established measure of current motivation to stop.

Method: Data from 16,657 current smokers in England were collected between October 2012 and June 2017 using cross-sectional household surveys. Smokers were asked whether they had made a serious quit attempt in the past year and they answered two questions on motivation to stop (current motivation and consistent motivation to stop smoking). Having made at least one quit attempt in the past year was regressed in logistic models onto current motivation to stop and consistent motivation to stop individually and then together, with both models adjusting for sociodemographic variables and a measure of nicotine dependence.

Results: The addition of consistent motivation to stop smoking added substantially to the fit of the model over and above the established measure of current motivation to quit (χ(1, N = 16,657) = 901.7, p < 0.001) with an adjusted odds ratio of 4.1 (95% CI = 3.7-4.5, p < 0.001).

Conclusion: Consistent motivation to stop smoking substantially improves the modelling of recent smoking cessation attempts over and above current motivation to stop. The consistency of smokers' motivation to quit may be a useful explanatory and target variable in future intervention studies.