Most older smokers who relapsed wanted to try quitting again

Design

Retrospective cohort with one-time telephone follow-up

Population

297 adults aged ≥60 who attended a Turkish smoking cessation clinic; 97 interviewed

Primary outcome

Self-reported smoking status 4.6–9.8 years later

Effect

36.1% of respondents not smoking; 80.6% of current smokers willing to try again

A Turkish primary care clinic traced adults aged 60 or over who had attended its smoking cessation service between 2015 and 2020, and telephoned them in 2024. Of 271 alive, only 97 could be interviewed.

About a third of respondents (36%) said they were not smoking. Because so many could not be reached, the true quit rate for the whole group could lie anywhere between 13% and 77%. Treatment type was not reliably linked to outcome. The striking finding was among those still smoking: 50 of 62 (81%) said they would accept help with another attempt.

Older smokers are often assumed to be settled in the habit. Here, most still wanted to stop years after a failed attempt — a reason to ask again at routine reviews.

• Ask older smokers about quitting at every review, even after a previous failed attempt.
• Four in five older people still smoking wanted help to try again.
• Stopping smoking benefits older adults too; age is not a reason to skip the conversation.
• Offer the full range of support — behavioural help plus pharmacotherapy — when they are ready.

Why it matters

A past failed attempt is often taken as the end of the conversation, and this suggests it should not be.

Don't overread it

Only 36% of the cohort could be interviewed, so the quit rate is unreliable and the willingness figure comes from respondents only.

The statistics, in plain English

The extreme-case range of 13–77% shows how much the answer depends on the people who could not be reached; with that much missing data, no single quit rate can be trusted.

Read the rest in the app

You have read your two free briefings this month. The app carries all 27 specialties, every morning, free — and this finding is waiting in it.

Get Daily Doctor — free

Scan to keep reading on your phone. No account needed to start.