Investigating the determinants of smoking cessation: from the desire to quit to the effective attempt

Smoking behavior involves complex mechanisms such as addiction (physical and psychological dependence, self-control, social smoking) and smoking related perceptions (self-exempting beliefs ans smoking norms). The latter evolve through consumption career described by the stages of change. Those effects are tested on a sample of French smokers who completed an online-survey. A first model tests the role of addiction on the motivation to quit. The results show a strong relationship: physical and psychological dependence are positively related to the motivation to quit, as self-control is negatively related. Moreover, as cigarette consumption becomes more anchored in everyday life and more solitary, reported motivation to quit increases. The second model, studies the relationship between smoking related perceptions and motivation to quit. Results show that smoking denormalization beliefs increase, and self-exempting beliefs decrease across the smoking career. In order to re-establish smokers' self-control, public policies should act on physical dependence (by helping consumers to adopt a smoking cessation strategy through the funding of different kind of treatments), but also on environmental cues that trigger the desire to smoke (by limiting them). The second possible strategy is to act on the relationship between smoking-related beliefs and the motivation to quit by promoting nudges, normative change, and moderate fear-appealing campaigns associated to high levels of efficacy and self-efficacy.