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Background and Purpose: The aim of the present study was to assess a relationship between readiness to quit and post-stroke smoking behavior., Methods: Eighty-six active smokers with first-ever ischemic stroke were recruited in a tertiary-care stroke unit. The question "Are you ready to quit smoking within the next month?" with yes/no responses and the 10-cm readiness visual analog scale (VAS) was administered during the anti-smoking intervention. Smoking status was verified at the 3- and 12-month follow-up., Results: The readiness VAS score at hospitalization was significantly lower in patients classified as smokers as compared to patients classified as non-smokers. The readiness score <5 cm was a significant predictor of smoking at the 3-month (OR, 7.3) and 12-month follow-up (OR, 4.9)., Conclusions: The present results suggest that the readiness VAS can be used as a simple and inexpensive instrument for early identification of patients who continue to smoke after stroke.

Ninety-eight cigarette smokers with ischemic stroke were recruited between December 2006 and December 2008 in an urban hospital. Smoking status and reasons for quit attempts after stroke were assessed at 3-month follow-up. 73% of patients (72/98) made at least one quit attempt between stroke onset and the follow-up visit. 47% of quit attempters (34/72) declared that stroke was the major reason for quitting. The patients reporting stroke as the major reason for quitting were more likely to be abstinent at the follow-up as compared to the patients who did not (61.8 vs. 36.8%). The study suggests that some motives for quitting smoking are associated with a higher chance for short-term abstinence in stroke patients., (Copyright © 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Little is known about biological factors involved in post-stroke smoking cessation. A recent retrospective study has indicated a possible association between unilateral insular lesions of various origin and a rapid disruption of nicotine addiction. Given the above, the aim of the present prospective study was to assess a relationship between post-stroke smoking cessation and lesion localization. Eighty-seven patients with first-ever, unilateral, ischemic stroke who had been active smokers at stroke onset were examined during hospitalization and at 3-month follow-up. No association was found between any specific lesion localization (the insula, operculum, striatum, thalamus, internal capsule, brainstem) and smoking status at the 3-month follow-up visit. Patients with lacunar circulation strokes (LACS) were more likely to be non-smokers at the follow-up examination. No sudden disruption of nicotine addition was observed in patients with insular or other stroke locations. Concluding, post-stroke smoking cessation may not be associated with insular lesions., (Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Cigarette smoking is a major modifiable risk factor for stroke. Smoking dose dependently increases the risk of stroke, especially in patients below 75 years of age. Although smoking cessation is considered as one of the most effective methods of secondary stroke prevention, little is known about nicotine dependence and predictors of smoking cessation after stroke. Identification of such predictors could facilitate the development of anti-smoking interventions in post-stroke patients. Results of previous studies showed that smoking cessation is determined by the interplay of multiple factors, including sociodemographic (gender, age, race, living conditions, employment), clinical (functional status), psychobiological (nicotine dependence, depressed mood) and environmental (smoking household members) factors. Limitations of most studies were relatively small sample sizes and lack of verification of smoking status with a biochemical marker (e.g. expired CO). The aim of this article is to summarize current knowledge about predictors of smoking cessation after stroke.

Background and Purpose: Predictors of smoking abstinence in stroke survivors remain largely unexplored. The present study addressed the relationship between degrees of nicotine dependence and smoking abstinence 3 months after ischemic stroke., Methods: One hundred smokers with first-ever ischemic stroke were prospectively enrolled to the study. Correlates of nicotine dependence as well as sociodemographic and clinical characteristics were assessed during hospitalization. Smoking status was determined at 3-month follow-up., Results: Significant predictors of smoking abstinence at follow-up included: the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence score, the Barthel Index, the number of smoking household members, and the Geriatric Depression Scale score., Conclusions: Our results suggest that smoking cessation after ischemic stroke can be determined by the interplay of psychobiological and environmental factors.