Smoking patterns, beliefs, and the practice of healthy behaviors in abstinent, relapsed, and recalcitrant smokers

The purpose of this study was to perform a secondary analysis of smoking patterns and beliefs related to healthy behaviors in adult smokers (N = 71). Data for the secondary analysis were obtained from an original study that examined guided health imagery as a smoking cessation intervention. The imagery intervention resulted in significantly higher 2-year smoking abstinence rates for the intervention group of participants (26% vs. 12% for the control group). In this study, discriminant function analysis demonstrated that “well-established smoking patterns” accounted for 42% of the variance in those smokers who relapsed or never made any attempt to quit smoking. Higher baseline smoking rates, longer lifetime smoking histories, younger age at initiation of smoking, more positive beliefs about smoking (pros), and fewer healthy behaviors differentiated abstinent smokers from those who relapsed or were considered recalcitrant. Smoking patterns, belief systems related to smoking, and the practice of healthy behaviors need to be assessed as smokers enroll in cessation programs. Knowledge about relapsed and recalcitrant smokers will assist in the development of future interventions to meet smokers’ unique needs and demands for cessation.