Smokers Who Value the Future Are More Likely to Quit

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120904193740.htm

ScienceDaily (Sep. 4, 2012) — Addiction researchers have known for many years that smokers are less likely than non-smokers to look to the future in planning their lives. New research, published in the journal Addiction, has now shown that among smokers, those who have more of a future orientation are more likely to stop smoking.

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Seventy-six percent of quitters were long-time-horizon planners, compared with 66% of those who continued to smoke.

Researchers in other fields have found similar associations: newly diagnosed diabetics who are future-focused are more likely to make healthy changes to their diet and exercise habits, and cocaine users who discount the future are less likely subsequently to stop using the drug.

Says co-author Jean Adams, "It is possible that helping smokers to think about the future a bit more might be a useful way to help them quit."