Three approaches to quantifying cigarette consumption: Data from nondaily smokers

Area of Science:

• Addiction Research
• Behavioral Science
• Public Health

Background:

• Accurate quantification of cigarette consumption is crucial for smoking cessation research.
• Nondaily smokers present unique challenges for monitoring smoking behavior.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the concordance and equivalence of three methods for measuring cigarette consumption in nondaily smokers.
• To determine if interactive voice response (IVR), cigarette butts, or time-line follow-back (TLFB) are interchangeable for research.

Main Methods:

• 232 nondaily smokers recorded cigarette consumption over two weeks using IVR, cigarette butts, and TLFB.
• Analyses examined correlations between measures (cigarettes per day, days abstinent) and urinary cotinine levels.
• Data were analyzed for both average consumption over two weeks and for individual days.

Main Results:

• All three methods showed high correlations (rs > .95) for average consumption and abstinence over two weeks.
• All methods demonstrated strong relationships with urinary cotinine levels (rs > .70).
• Estimates of days abstinent differed slightly by method, but individual day analyses showed high agreement (≥90%) and correlations (rs = .75-.96).

Conclusions:

• Interactive voice response (IVR), cigarette butts, and time-line follow-back (TLFB) provide highly concordant and equivalent estimates of cigarette consumption in nondaily smokers.
• The composite average of these methods yields a highly reliable measure of smoking behavior.
• Any single method can be reliably used by nondaily smokers for quantifying cigarette consumption in research settings.