Use of and interest in smoking cessation strategies among daily and nondaily college student smokers

Objective: To examine use of and interest in cessation strategies among nondaily and daily college student smokers. Participants: 800 undergraduate student smokers aged 18 to 25. Methods: The authors examined nondaily versus daily smoking in relation to use of and interest in cessation strategies using an online survey. Results: Nondaily (65.8%) versus daily smokers (34.3%) were more likely to have made a quit attempt (p =.01) but less likely to have used any assistance (p <.001). Nondaily smokers were less interested in pharmacotherapy and traditional behavioral interventions; however, there was no difference in interest in technology-based interventions among nondaily versus daily smokers. Controlling for covariates, there were no significant differences in interest in traditional or technology-based behavioral interventions. Higher motivation, lower confidence, and depressive symptomatology were related to interest in each intervention. Smoking for social reasons was related to interest in technology-based interventions. Conclusions: Different intervention strategies may be appropriate for nondaily and daily smokers.