Quitting activity and tobacco brand switching: Findings from the ITC-4 Country Survey

Abstract

Objective: Among Australian smokers, to examine associations between cigarette brand switching, quitting activity and possible causal directions by lagging the relationships in different directions. Methods: Current smokers from nine waves (2002 to early 2012) of the ITC-4 Country Survey Australian dataset were surveyed. Measures were brand switching, both brand family and product type (roll-your-own versus factory-made cigarettes) reported in adjacent waves, interest in quitting, recent quit attempts, and one month sustained abstinence. Results: Switching at one interval was unrelated to concurrent quit interest. Quit interest predicted switching at the following interval, but the effect di..