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An examination of cigarette brand switching to reduce health risks

  • Empirical Articles
  • Published:
Annals of Behavioral Medicine

Abstract

This study examined cigarette brand switching to reduce health risks in a population of young smokers (N=7,998) entering United States Air Force Basic Military Training. Because of a comprehensive tobacco ban during training, all smokers were abstinent during the study. Results from this investigation suggested that brand switching to reduce health risks was common among current smokers (31.3% of males; 32.3% of females). Brand switchers smoked fewer cigarettes, were more likely to smoke low-yield brands, had lower scores on a measure of nicotine dependency, and were more confident they could remain abstinent following training. Other discriminators of smokers who had switched brands from other smokers included using smoking to control appetite, greater proclivity to attempt smoking cessation, engaging in fewer safety risks, and healthier dietary composition. Finally, brand switchers quit smoking at a higher rate than other smokers (12.5% versus 11.1%) during the year following basic military training. However, a multivariate logistic regression model that controlled for demographic factors and smoking history suggested that brand switching was not a statistically significant predictor of smoking cessation during the follow-up period.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Missouri, 5319 Holmes Street, 64110, Kansas City, MO

    C. Keith Haddock Ph.D.

  2. Wilford Hall Medical Center, San Antonio, USA

    G. Wayne Talcott Ph.D.

  3. The University of Memphis Prevention Center, Memphis, USA

    Robert C. Klesges Ph.D.

  4. University of Minnesota, Minnesota, USA

    Harry Lando Ph.D.

Authors
  1. C. Keith Haddock Ph.D.
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  2. G. Wayne Talcott Ph.D.
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  3. Robert C. Klesges Ph.D.
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  4. Harry Lando Ph.D.
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Additional information

Preparation of this manuscript was supported in part by a grant awarded by the United States National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (HL-53478).

The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not reflect the official position of the United States Air Force Basic Military Training, the Department of Defense, or the United States Government.

The authors would like to thank Dr. Gary Giovino and Dr. Risa Stein for their helpful comments on earlier drafts of this manuscript. The authors would like to also thank the commanders and training instructors of USAF BMT for their strong support of this project.

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Haddock, C.K., Talcott, G.W., Klesges, R.C. et al. An examination of cigarette brand switching to reduce health risks. ann. behav. med. 21, 128–134 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02908293

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02908293

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