We cannot be sure as to why our results differ selleck chemical Ixazomib so markedly from the other studies. It is possible that a small part of the effect is due to memory effects, but it cannot in any simple way account for most of the differences. It could be something about the questions asked. Our questions identified a small group who reported having not smoked for sometime before deciding to quit. This possibility does not seem to have been allowed in the other studies. Both our study and those before us focused on the delay between deciding to make a quit attempt and it��s implementation. However, the measure that is used in the other studies conflates this delay with planning. But being committed with a delay does not mean that the delay will be used for planning.

Choosing a quit day in advance is not necessary for there to be planning nor does it guarantee that there will be planning. There can be conditional planning either before or after any commitment to act. This all said, we have no clear explanation as to why conflating planning and any delay between the decision to quit and its implementation would lead to the higher rate of success associated with unplanned attempts. We have now included more detailed questions on the extent of planning activity in the ITC survey, so we will eventually be able to address these issues empirically. This area of research has huge potential implications for smoking cessation practice, which encourages planning. Research on behavioral interventions that typically include elements of planning are demonstrably effective (e.g.

, Stead, Perera, & Lancaster, 2009), and while their benefits may be independent of any planning component, we know of no randomized control trials in which the control group is not also subject to a period of delay. However, both West and Sohal (2006) and Ferguson et al. (2009) warn against making the conclusion that planning per se leads to failure, arguing that it indicates some unresolved internal conflict, and it is this that makes abstinence less likely. We agree with Hughes and Carpenter (2006) that research is urgently needed to resolve these issues. Conclusion Those who implemented a quit attempt on the day they decided to quit and those who delayed for a week or more had comparable rates of success. This suggests that delaying per se does not predict failure.

We found some evidence of an association between delaying for 1�C6 days and failing at a quit attempt, but this was confounded by other factors determining failure. Importantly, our study adds to the growing body of evidence (Ferguson et al., 2009; Larabie, 2005; Murray et al., 2009; West & Sohal, 2006) suggesting that smokers who Brefeldin_A are motivated to quit should not be discouraged from implementing a quit attempt as soon as the decision is made. Research is needed on optimizing postimplementation evidence-based cessation support.