Predictors of quitting in hospitalized smokers

Hospitalization represents a teachable moment for quitting. The current study examined predictors of quitting among hospitalized smokers. Patients reported smoking history and demographic characteristics during in-hospital baseline interviews. Discharge diagnosis also was collected. Smoking status was ascertained in interviews at 7 days and at 12 months after discharge. A total of 2,350 patients in four Minneapolis and St. Paul (Twin Cities), Minnesota, area hospitals participated in the study; 1,477 patients who provided data at both follow-ups and whose 12-month self-report of quitting was corroborated by cotinine analysis of saliva samples were included in the current analyses. Predictors of both short- and long-term abstinence in the multivariate analysis included smoking-related illness, age (those who were older were more likely to be abstinent), stage of change (precontemplators were least likely to quit, and those initially in action were most likely to quit), and time to first cigarette (those who reported smoking within 5 min of awakening were least likely to quit). The predictors presented few surprises; the most important finding may have been that the experience of hospitalization itself led to substantial long-term quitting for virtually all categories of hospitalized smokers.