ReviewBMJ open2015
Why do smokers try to quit without medication or counselling? A qualitative study with ex-smokers.
Review in BMJ open, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 42 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
42 citing papers in PubMed.
- Can We Predict Who Will Experience Adverse Events While Using Smoking Cessation Pharmacotherapy? A Secondary Analysis of the EAGLES Clinical Trial.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2025Trial
- Telephone Counseling and Messaging Guided by Mobile Profiling of Tobacco Users for Smoking Cessation: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2025Trial
- Cost-effectiveness and cost-utility analysis of a work-place smoking cessation intervention with and without financial incentives.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2020Trial
- Trial
- Treatment barriers among younger and older socioeconomically disadvantaged smokers.The American journal of managed care · 2017Trial
- Impact of large-scale distribution and subsequent use of free nicotine patches on primary care physician interaction.BMC public health · 2017Trial
- Awareness, use and future interest in cytisine for smoking cessation in adults who smoke or have quit within the past year in the UK: A mixed-methods study.Addictive behaviors reports · 2026Article
- Social Networks and Their Influence on the Choice of Unassisted Smoking Cessation: Cross-Sectional Study in Six Cities in China.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2026Article
- Decision-Making on Nicotine Replacement Therapy Use and Product Selection: An Explorative Qualitative Study Among Chinese Americans Who Smoke.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- Effect of Helpers Stay Quit Online Training on Preventing Smoking Relapse and Personal Networks: Protocol for a Pragmatic Randomized Controlled Trial and Embedded Mixed Methods Personal Network Study.JMIR research protocols · 2026Article
- Adapting a Mobile Health App for Smoking Cessation in Black Adults With Anxiety Through an Analysis of the Mobile Anxiety Sensitivity Program Proof-of-Concept Trial: Qualitative Study.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- Identifying roles in smoking cessation care for different types of healthcare providers: a qualitative study with people who smoke.Frontiers in health services · 2025Article
- [Methods to quit smoking-a quantitative online survey on facilitators and barriers (RauS-study)].Bundesgesundheitsblatt, Gesundheitsforschung, Gesundheitsschutz · 2025Article
- Understanding cancer patients' desire to quit tobacco without assistance: A mixed-methods study.Journal of health psychology · 2024Article
- Patient reactions to proactive tobacco cessation counseling using a decision aid in primary care: A qualitative study.Tobacco use insights · 2024Article
- The association between cultural and social occasions and smoking cessation: The case of Saudi Arabia.Tobacco induced diseases · 2023Article
- Mentioning smoking cessation assistance during healthcare consultations matters: findings from Dutch survey research.European journal of public health · 2022Article
- Latent constructs identified in older individuals who smoke cigarettes and are eligible for lung cancer screening: Factor analysis of baseline data from the PLUTO smoking cessation trial.Contemporary clinical trials communications · 2022Article
- Smokers' preferences for how to quit: the importance of promoting both assisted and unassisted cessation.The Lancet regional health. Western Pacific · 2022Article
- A descriptive study of cervical cancer survivors' persistent smoking behavior and perceived barriers to quitting.Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveWhen tobacco smokers quit, between half and two-thirds quit unassisted: that is, they do not consult their general practitioner (GP), use pharmacotherapy (nicotine-replacement therapy, bupropion or varenicline), or phone a quitline. We sought to understand why smokers quit unassisted.
designQualitative grounded theory study (in-depth interviews, theoretical sampling, concurrent data collection and data analysis).
participants21 Australian adult ex-smokers (aged 28-68 years; 9 males and 12 females) who quit unassisted within the past 6 months to 2 years. 12 participants had previous experience of using assistance to quit; 9 had never previously used assistance.
settingCommunity, Australia.
resultsAlong with previously identified barriers to use of cessation assistance (cost, access, lack of awareness or knowledge of assistance, including misperceptions about effectiveness or safety), our study produced new explanations of why smokers quit unassisted: (1) they prioritise lay knowledge gained directly from personal experiences and indirectly from others over professional or theoretical knowledge; (2) their evaluation of the costs and benefits of quitting unassisted versus those of using assistance favours quitting unassisted; (3) they believe quitting is their personal responsibility; and (4) they perceive quitting unassisted to be the 'right' or 'better' choice in terms of how this relates to their own self-identity or self-image. Deep-rooted personal and societal values such as independence, strength, autonomy and self-control appear to be influencing smokers' beliefs and decisions about quitting.
conclusionsThe reasons for smokers' rejection of the conventional medical model for smoking cessation are complex and go beyond modifiable or correctable problems relating to misperceptions or treatment barriers. These findings suggest that GPs could recognise and respect smokers' reasons for rejecting assistance, validate and approve their choices, and modify brief interventions to support their preference for quitting unassisted, where preferred. Further research and translation may assist in developing such strategies for use in practice.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.