Exploring Relationships Among Experience of Regret, Delay Discounting, and Worries About Future Effects of Smoking Among Current Smokers

Abstract

Background Smoking regret differs by smoker characteristics (dependence) and may be linked to delay discounting (DD), where smaller immediate rewards are preferred to larger delayed rewards. It is hypothesized that those who exhibit stronger tendencies to delay rewards also express fewer future health concerns and possibly less regret about smoking. Objectives The objective is to determine the interrelationships of regret, dependence, and delay discounting among current smokers. Methods In July 2010, 1062 smokers completed a 45-minute at-home web based survey and answered questions including regret, dependence (Fagerstrom Test for Cigarette Dependence), and delay discounting (Monetary Choice Questionnaire). Relationships among these variables and perceived future health effects were analyzed using correlations, repeated measures analysis of variance, and generalized linear models. Results Most smokers (85%) regretted smoking. FTCD and log-k (DD) scores were positively associated (rs = 0.15, p<.001). Though a strong decline in log-k was shown as reward increased (p’s<.001), there were no differences in discounting by regret. Regret was positively associated with worries concerning health effects, quality of life, and finances (p’s<.001). Little association was found between DD and future health concerns. Conclusions / Importance Though this study confirms that regret for smoking is associated with perceived future risks as well as supports previous findings between FTCD and DD, it shows little association between DD and perceived future risks.

Regretting Ever Starting to Smoke: Results from a 2014 National Survey

“…Consistent with previous research [ 5 , 13 , 33 ], the prevalence of regret was high among smokers in this study; across studies, reported regret ranges from 79% to 92% (Malaysia (79%), the United Kingdom (89%), Australia (90%), Thailand (92%), and Canada (92%)). Fong et al reported that, among United States smokers, the prevalence of smoker regret was 91% in 2004, whereas a study by O’Connor using 2010 U.S. data reported 85% regret among a similar sample of U.S. adults.…”

“…The findings indicate that the vast majority of smokers regret having started smoking [5,13,33]. Perceiving health risks from smoking was associated with having regret.…”

“…This study provides estimates from a recent national survey of US adults on the regret smokers experience from continuing to smoke and predictors associated with this regret. The findings indicate that the vast majority of smokers regret having started smoking [ 5 , 13 , 33 ]. Perceiving health risks from smoking was associated with having regret.…”

“…Studies of smoker regret were published by Slovic in 2001 [ 14 ], Fong et al in 2002 [ 5 ], and O’Connor et al in 2010 [ 33 ]. Slovic, Fong and O’Connor examined a U.S. sample while the other two studies [ 7 , 13 ] focused on Asian countries.…”

Reassessing the importance of ‘lost pleasure’ associated with smoking cessation: implications for social welfare and policy

“… 29 40 45 O’Connor and colleagues recently explored the relationships between smokers’ feelings of regret and other characteristics such as delay discounting and worries about future health. 48 They reported that among US adult smokers completing a 2010 web-based survey, 84.4% expressed regret and that regret was positively associated with worries about the negative impact of their smoking on health, quality of life and how much they spend on cigarettes. 48 Finally, we recently reported that in 2014, 71.5% of US adult smokers expressed regret and that older and non-Hispanic white smokers were most likely to report regret.…”