Reduction in amount smoked predicts future cessation

The goal of this article is to determine whether reducing cigarette consumption increases the likelihood of future cessation. Data from 3,385 participants who originally took part in the Community Intervention Trial for Smoking Cessation completed detailed tobacco use phone surveys in 1988, 1993, and 2001. Between 1988 and 1993, 15% of smokers reduced their daily cigarette consumption by 50% or more, and 9% of the entire baseline sample maintained this reduction in 2001. Those who reduced more than 50% were 1.7 times more likely to quit smoking by 2001 compared with those who did not reduce. Few smokers are able to reduce their consumption by 50% or more, although those who do are more likely to quit compared with those who do not.