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Cigarette Smoke Does Not Trigger Relapse In Smokers, Says Study
By News Staff | October 17th 2008 12:30 AM | 3 comments | Print | E-mail | Track Comments
Research into tobacco dependence published online today (Friday 17 October 2008) in the November issue of Addiction, has shown that recent ex-smokers who find exposure to other people's cigarette smoke pleasant are not any more likely to relapse than those who find it unpleasant.

Led by Dr Hayden McRobbie and Professor Peter Hajek of the Tobacco Dependence Research Unit at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, researchers examined the hypothesis that those who find the smell of smoke pleasant are more likely to relapse than those who have a neutral or negative reaction to it. Surprisingly, they concluded that finding the smell of other people's cigarettes pleasant does not make abstaining smokers any more likely to relapse.

The researchers studied a group of over a thousand smokers receiving smoking cessation treatment at the East London Smokers Clinic. During their six weeks of treatment (two weeks prior to quitting and four weeks afterwards) the smokers completed a weekly questionnaire that measured the severity of their withdrawal discomfort, and also asked them to rate how pleasant they found the smell of other people's cigarettes during the past week.

The results showed that during their first week of abstinence, 23 per cent of respondents found the smell of other people's cigarette smoke pleasant. Finding the cigarette smoke pleasant was not related to smoking status in the following week.

Lead author Dr Hayden McRobbie says, "Recent quitters can be reassured that finding the smell of cigarette smoke pleasant is not likely to lead them back to smoking."

Comments

Kimberly Crandell's picture
What has often puzzled me, is why so many ex-smokers are so adamantly opposed to current smokers being around them and subjecting them to "second hand" smoke.  So many times I have heard, "Ever since I quit smoking, I can't STAND the smell of cigarette smoke!"  And usually this is soon followed by them approaching the smoker and asking them to move/stop/etc.

Is it actually somehow more bothersome for people that used to smoke, or are they secretly trying to eliminate temptation? 

Kimberly Crandell | 10/19/08 | 21:03 PM
It is very common for ex -smokers to become significantly more sensitive to tobacco smoke, and lingering odours. As an ex-smoker I am NEVER tempted to smoke (tobacco) again, and one of the reasons is actually the incredibly bad reaction I get to smoke and burnt tobacco odour. It has nothing to do with temptation, The reaction is not purely psychological: I have had some rather uncomfortable physical reactions-akin to allergic reactions- o smoky environments when I can't escape relatively quickly. In the past I was a heavy smoker and able to tolerate very poor air quality without reaction, now I can tolerate smoke much less than the average non-smoker. I am, however, quite unsure of the reason, but don't doubt that it has some physiological basis atleast partially. Smoking is a particularly challenging issues of freedom and ethics, especially in public places, however it is considerate for the smoker to remove themselves atleast to an unconfined space, and away from the entrances of businesses for example, to avoid inflicting their habit on others. Second-hand smoke is always unpleasant and harmful to non-smokers and the considerate and morally concerned smoker should atleast be concerned with minimizing these impacts. The real answer is, of course, to stop smoking as tobacco cultivation and use is a fantastic drain on the environment, human society and one's own family, but no one expects everyone to quit tobacco just like it will be a long, hard struggle to eliminate crack/cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine from social use.

On the other hand, even that is not really adequate when it comes down to walking across a busy street at night, filled with bars, pubs and clubs (hence many smokers standing outside) and I fully support the creation of well ventilated, interior smoking areas in public buildings and businesses. Mindless ostracization of smokers is counterproductive for everyone, but a hermetically sealed, interior smoking area with air filters, might well serve public health much more effectively. This is something of the equivalent of a "safe injection site" for heroin users, and will probably prove itself given proper study.

C. Waters (not verified) | 04/16/09 | 15:18 PM
I have been an ex-smoker for almost 14 months. For the first few months, it really unnerved me that the smell of cigarette smoke didn't bother me. I had heard so many ex-smokers say that they just couldn't tolerate the smell of cigarette smoke withing a few weeks after quitting. I wondered when they would start to smell bad to me and so far they haven't. Now, of course, I can smell if someone has smoked in an area in the past few hours and if the guy two cars up from me is smoking with his window rolled down I can smell it, things I would have been unlikely to do when I was smoking. However, it doesn't make me want one. Haven't smoked for 14 months and don't intend to (I've got too much time invested in it now). I just enjoy the smell in passing.

Lila (not verified) | 05/22/09 | 13:24 PM

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