Motivations toward smoking cessation, reasons for relapse, and modes of quitting: results from a qualitative study among former and current smokers

Figures & data

Table 1 Summary of participants who took part in focus groups and interviews

Participants	Current smoker, n	Former smoker, n
Focus group 1	6	–
Focus group 2	6	–
Focus group 3	–	8
Focus group 4	–	4
Interviews	5	6
Total number of participants	17	18

Table 2 Characteristics of participants

Characteristic	Participants, n
Male	22
Female	13
Age, years
≤30	11
31–49	15
≥50	9
Duration of smoking, years
≤10	11
11–19	14
≥20	9
Current smoker	17
Former smoker	18

Table 3 Topic guide for focus groups and interviews

Opening question	Why did you quit smoking cigarettes?/Why do you want to quit smoking cigarettes?
Prompts	Have you tried to give up smoking before?
	How many times have you tried/did you try (before you succeeded)?
	Did/Do you prepare (somehow) to stop smoking, or did/will it happen spontaneously?
	If you had a relapse (return to smoking), what were the reasons for it?
	Would you like to say something we haven’t talked about and that is important for you?

Table 4 Example from content analysis of meaning unit, condensed meaning unit, interpretation, subtheme, and theme

Meaning unit	Condensed meaning unit, description close to the text	Interpretation (code)	Subtheme	Theme
“I always knew that when I get pregnant, I surely won’t smoke, and because I was strongly motivated as I had a baby inside me, quitting smoking was not a problem”	“I knew that when I get pregnant, I won’t smoke, and because I had a baby inside me, quitting smoking was not a problem”	Pregnancy was a strong motivation to stop smoking, so as to not harm the baby	Pregnancy as a motivation for smoking cessation	Motivation for smoking cessation