Table 1 Measures assessing mental health, triggers for cessation attempt, support used during and outcome of quit attempt

Mental health measures

Ever diagnosis

  Since the age of 16, which of the following, if any, has a doctor or health professional ever told you that you had? [all that apply, presented in randomised order, excluding the final three options]

a) Depression

b) Anxiety

c) Obsessive-compulsive disorder

d) Panic disorder or a phobia

e) Post-traumatic stress disorder

f) Psychosis

g) Personality disorder

h) Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

i) An eating disorder

j) Alcohol misuse or dependence

k) Drug use or dependence

l) Problem gambling

m) None of these

n) Do not know

o) Prefer not to say

  Categorised as ever having had a diagnosis if yes to any of a) to l).

Past-year treatment

  In the last 12 months, which of the following conditions, if any, have you had any treatment or taken any prescribed medication for?

  Response options were any conditions that had been selected in the previous question as well as none of these, do not know and prefer not to say.

Past-month distress

  During the past 30 days, about how often, if at all, did you feel…

a) Nervous

b) Hopeless

c) Restless or fidgety

d) So depressed that nothing could cheer you up

e) That everything was an effort

f) Worthless

  For each, the respondent indicated one of the following: all of the time (scored 4), most of the time (3), some of the time (2), a little of the time (1) and none of the time (0).

  A sum score with a possible range from 0 to 24 was calculated; scores between 5 and 12 were categorised as moderate distress [28] and scores of 13 and higher as serious distress [26, 27].

Outcome measures

Quit attempt triggers

  Q632c3a. Which of the following do you think contributed to you making the most recent quit attempt? [all that apply, presented in randomised order, excluding the final option]

a) Advice from a GP/health professional

a) TV advert for a nicotine replacement product

b) Government TV/radio/press advert

c) Hearing about a new stop smoking treatment

d) A decision that smoking was too expensive

e) Being faced with smoking restrictions

f) I knew someone else who was stopping

g) Seeing a health warning on a cigarette packet

h) Being contacted by my local NHS Stop Smoking Services

i) Health problems I had at the time

j) A concern about future health problems

k) Attending a local stop smoking activity or event

l) Something said by family/friends/children

m) A significant birthday

n) Others (please specify)

Support used

  Q632e40. Which, if any, of the following did you try to help you stop smoking during the most recent serious quit attempt? [all that apply, presented in randomised order excluding the final option]

a) Nicotine replacement product (e.g. patches/gum/inhaler) without a prescription

b) Nicotine replacement product on prescription or given to you by a health professional

c) Zyban (bupropion)

d) Champix (varenicline)

e) Attended a Stop Smoking group

f) Attended one or more Stop Smoking one-to-one counselling/advice/support session/s

g) Phoned a Smoking Helpline

h) A book or booklet

i) Visited www.nhs.uk/Smokefree website

j) Visited a website other than Smokefree

k) Used an application (‘app’) on a handheld computer (smartphone, tablet, PDA)

l) Hypnotherapy

m) Acupuncture

n) Electronic cigarette

o) Heat-not-burn cigarette (e.g. iQOS, heatsticks)

p) Allen Carr Easyway session

q) Allen Carr Easyway book

r) The SmokeFree Formula book

s) Other book or booklet

t) Others (please specify)

  As outcome variable dummy-coded as (1) ‘non-evidence-based support’ (h, i, j, k, l, m, o, p, q, r, s, t), (2) ‘NRT over the counter’ (a), (3) ‘e-cigarettes’ (n) and (4) ‘prescription medication and/or behavioural support’ (b, c, d, e, f, g).

Categorised hierarchically, so where respondents used more than one type of support, the type with evidence for higher effectiveness was recorded [29,30,31]. NRT over the counter was separated from prescription medication as NRT without support appears to be a weaker option [30,31,32]. Numbers were too small to separate group 4 further as initially planned.

Quit success

  How long did your most recent serious quit attempt last before you went back to smoking?

a) Still not smoking

b) Less than a day

c) Less than a week

d) More than 1 week and up to a month

e) More than 1 month and up to 2 months

f) More than 2 months and up to 3 months

g) More than 3 months and up to 6 months

h) More than 6 months and up to a year

  If respondents were not smoking at the time of the survey (a), they were categorised as having made a successful attempt. This was restricted to those whose attempt started at least 1 month ago for some analysis.