Is There an Association Between the Degree of Nicotine Dependence and the Motivation to Stop Smoking?

Objective: To evaluate the association between degrees of nicotine dependence measured by the Fagerström test (FTCD) and different tests of motivation to stop smoking.

Material and methods: Observational study, multicenter conducted in smoking clinics in daily clinical practice. Demographics, smoking status, FTCD scores, and motivation test results were collected: Richmond test (TR), Henri Mondor Paris motivation test (HMP), Khimji-Watts test (KW), and the visual analog scale of motivation to stop smoking. The statistical analysis was descriptive, and correlation and analysis tests and regression models were used.

Results: A total of 314 subjects were included [162 women (51.59%)]. Males smoked an average of 3.3 cigarettes/day more than women (95% CI: 0.9-5.6 cigarettes/day, p=0.006) and their cumulative consumption was 7.8 pack-years higher than in women (95% CI: 2.1 to 13.5 pack-years). We found no association between FTCD and the motivation tests to stop smoking used in this study.

Conclusions: We found no association between the degree of dependence and the motivation to quit smoking measured by the aforementioned instruments.