f 
^ Chapter 4 
i 
Table 2 
Quit strategies ever used by current smokers, by tar yield and history of switching®, by percent: 
Ages 18 and older. United States, 1987 
Tar Yield (mg) 
History of 
Switching 
<6 
7-15 
>16 
Ever 
Never 
Switch to Low Tar 
37 
22 
18 
38 
6 
Special Filters 
14 
9 
8 
13 
4 
Gradual Reduction 
39 
34 
36 
42 
27 
Nicotine Gum 
16 
10 
10 
12 
8 
The Great American Smokeout 
10 
9 
8 
12 
6 
Cold Turkey 
86 
84 
82 
82 
85 
Book/Pamphlet 
9 
9 
7 
10 
5 
Relatives/Friends 
18 
18 
18 
20 
13 
I ^ Switching to lower tar and nicotine brand to reduce health risks. 
Source: National Center for Health Statistics, 1987. 
Among persons who had ever been regular smokers, those who smoked 
low-tar cigarettes and those who switched to lower tar brands were more 
likely to have made a recent effort to quit smoking and relapsed and were 
less likely to be former smokers (data not shown). Among smokers who had 
never tried to quit, smokers of low-tar cigarettes and those who switched to 
low-tar cigarettes were more likely to have considered quitting (data not 
shown). 
DISCUSSION These data seem to reflect an interplay of the forces of motivation to 
quit and nicotine dependence (Russell, 1981). Smokers of lower tar cigarettes 
appear to be especially interested in quitting and are more actively seeking 
help than smokers of higher tar cigarettes. Perhaps when lower tar smokers 
were unsuccessful in their attempts to quit, they switched to a lower tar brand 
to allay their fears about the health consequences of continuing to smoke. 
The tacit health claims associated with advertisements of the lower tar brands 
may have allayed smokers' health concerns (Davis, 1987). Because of the 
cross-sectional nature of the data, however, further research on the topic is 
warranted. 
Not all switching is a step toward quitting. Three of every five smokers 
who had ever switched to lower tar and nicotine brands did not do so as a 
quitting strategy. Both low-tar cigarette smokers and ever-switchers were 
more likely, compared respectively with high-tar smokers and persons who 
had never switched brands, to (1) acknowledge the dangers of smoking. 
51 
