Smoking transitions in a sample of Hispanic daily light and intermittent smokers.

Abstract Few studies have documented the differences between daily light (DLS; ≤ 10 cigarettes per day) and intermittent (ITS; nondaily) smokers. The primary aim of this study was to assess the potential transitions (i.e., increased/stayed at same level) between baseline and a 3 month follow-up of Hispanic DLS and ITS who were randomly assigned to a control group of a brief cessation intervention. Additionally, potential nicotine addiction differences between groups of smokers (e.g., ITS who became DLS vs. those who did not change) were assessed. Participants were 190 Hispanic DLS/ITS (who represent a subsample from a larger dataset, n  = 370) with complete data (53.7% female; M age  = 38.6 years, SD  = 15.1; range = 18–74 years) randomized to the control arm of a brief cessation intervention. Participants completed sociodemographics, tobacco use history, and the Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND; Heatherton, Kozlowski, Frecker and Fagerstrom, 1991). The majority of participants remained DLS (41.1%) or ITS (21.6%). ANCOVA findings indicated significant group differences regarding FTND scores ( F [5114] = 6.93, p