Predictors of Cigarette Smoking Cessation in Adolescents: A Systematic Review

Purpose: To update a systematic review published in 2012 that identified predictors of cigarette smoking cessation among adolescents.

Methods: The PubMed and Web of Science databases were searched for relevant articles published between September 2010 and January 2018, using the following keywords: smoking OR tobacco OR cessation; quit OR stop; longitudinal OR prospective OR cohort. Our search identified 3,399 articles. Inclusion criteria included longitudinal studies (intervention and cohort studies) evaluating cigarette smoking cessation in young people (aged 10-24 years). After screening, in total, 34 articles were included in the review.

Results: In total, 63 predictors of smoking cessation among adolescents were identified, with 36 new predictors that were not identified in the previous review: nine sociodemographic factors, 13 psychosocial factors, five behavioral factors, 19 social influences factors, eight smoking related variables, six environmental factors, 2 health related variables, and one genetic factor.

Conclusions: To increase the probability of successful smoking cessation, strategies targeting young smokers should consider both individual and environmental predictors of cessation.