Successful tobacco quitters were more likely to not use cannabis, perceive smoking as harmful, and have no environmental smoke exposure

A nationally representative French survey found that successful and unsuccessful smoking cessation shared some predictors (no cannabis use, older age), while successful quitters specifically were distinguished by no e-cigarette use, no environmental tobacco exposure, and perceiving smoking as harmful.

El-Khoury Lesueur, Fabienne et al.·Addictive behaviors·2018·Moderate EvidenceCross-Sectional

Quitting (221)Addiction (1380)

Quick Facts

Study Type

Cross-Sectional

Evidence

Moderate Evidence

Sample

N=4,342

What This Study Found

Researchers analyzed data from a nationally representative French survey of 2,110 current or former smokers, comparing three groups: those who never quit or quit less than 6 months, unsuccessful quitters (relapsed after 6+ months), and successful quitters (abstinent 6+ months).

Both successful and unsuccessful quitting shared common predictors: no cannabis use, older age, and intermediate or high occupational grade.

Factors that specifically distinguished successful quitters from unsuccessful ones were no e-cigarette use, no environmental tobacco smoke exposure, fear of health consequences, perceived harmfulness of smoking, high educational attainment, and good overall health.

Notably, cannabis use was associated with both failed quit attempts and never quitting, suggesting it is a barrier to smoking cessation regardless of the quit trajectory.

Key Numbers

4,342 adults surveyed, 2,110 current/former smokers analyzed. Three-group comparison. No cannabis use associated with both successful and unsuccessful cessation vs. not quitting. E-cigarette use associated with unsuccessful rather than successful quitting.

How They Did This

Cross-sectional analysis of the DePICT nationally representative telephone survey of 4,342 French adults aged 18-64. Among 2,110 current or former smokers, multinomial logistic regression compared predictors of no quit attempt, unsuccessful cessation, and successful cessation.

Why This Research Matters

Identifying what differentiates successful from unsuccessful quitters helps target interventions. The finding that cannabis use is a barrier to smoking cessation is particularly relevant as cannabis legalization expands and dual use becomes more common.

The Bigger Picture

This study highlights that quitting tobacco and using cannabis are linked behaviors. People who use cannabis are less likely to successfully quit tobacco, which has implications for cessation programs that may need to address cannabis use concurrently. The finding about e-cigarettes is also notable, associating their use with unsuccessful rather than successful quitting.

What This Study Doesn't Tell Us

Cross-sectional design cannot establish temporal relationships. Self-reported data subject to recall bias. French population may not generalize to other countries with different cannabis and tobacco use norms. E-cigarette technology and use patterns have evolved since data collection.

Questions This Raises

?Would addressing cannabis use improve tobacco cessation outcomes?
?Is the e-cigarette association causal (e-cigarettes failing as cessation tools) or are unsuccessful quitters more likely to try e-cigarettes as another strategy?
?Do these patterns hold in countries with legal recreational cannabis?

Trust & Context

Key Stat:: Cannabis use was a barrier to smoking cessation regardless of quit trajectory
Evidence Grade:: Nationally representative survey with multivariate analysis provides moderate cross-sectional evidence, though it cannot establish causation.
Study Age:: Published in 2018 with French data. E-cigarette products and cannabis legalization have evolved significantly since.
Original Title:: Factors associated with successful vs. unsuccessful smoking cessation: Data from a nationally representative study.
Published In:: Addictive behaviors, 80, 110-115 (2018)
Authors:: El-Khoury Lesueur, Fabienne, Bolze, Camille, Melchior, Maria(6)
Database ID:: RTHC-01650

Evidence Hierarchy

Meta-Analysis / Systematic Review

Randomized Controlled Trial

Cohort / Case-Control

Cross-Sectional / ObservationalSnapshot without intervening

This study

Case Report / Animal Study

A snapshot of a population at one point in time.

What do these levels mean? →

Frequently Asked Questions

Does cannabis use make it harder to quit tobacco?

This study found that cannabis use was associated with both never quitting and unsuccessful quitting, suggesting it is a barrier to smoking cessation. However, the cross-sectional design cannot prove causation.

Did e-cigarettes help people quit smoking?

In this study, e-cigarette use was associated with unsuccessful rather than successful smoking cessation. The authors noted this should be verified in longitudinal studies.

Cite This Study

RTHC-01650·https://rethinkthc.com/research/RTHC-01650

APA

El-Khoury Lesueur, Fabienne; Bolze, Camille; Melchior, Maria. (2018). Factors associated with successful vs. unsuccessful smoking cessation: Data from a nationally representative study.. Addictive behaviors, 80, 110-115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2018.01.016

MLA

El-Khoury Lesueur, Fabienne, et al. "Factors associated with successful vs. unsuccessful smoking cessation: Data from a nationally representative study.." Addictive behaviors, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2018.01.016

RethinkTHC

RethinkTHC Research Database. "Factors associated with successful vs. unsuccessful smoking ..." RTHC-01650. Retrieved from https://rethinkthc.com/research/el-khoury-2018-factors-associated-with-successful

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This study breakdown was produced by the RethinkTHC research team. We analyze and report published research findings without making health recommendations. All interpretations are based solely on the published abstract and study data.

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