Does Depression Affect Smoking Cessation and Relapse?

Depression is positively associated with smoking, but whether depression is linked to failure in smoking cessation is uncertain. Investigators used data from the International Tobacco Control Study (ITCS) to prospectively examine the relation between depression and quitting behavior in 6811 daily smokers (57% female; mean age, 47 years) from the U.S., Australia, Canada, and the U.K.

In telephone interviews, participants were asked about depressive symptoms (depressed mood or lack of interest/pleasure) and diagnosis in the previous year, nicotine use, recent quit attempts, intent to quit, quitting self-efficacy, and beliefs about how smoking affects health and quality of life. One year later, participants were asked about subsequent quit atte…