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        2016 Archive Presentation
        AbstractBiography
        The impact of smoking cessation on real-world prospective remembering


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        Author(s)

        Dr Thomas Heffernan and Dr Terence O'Neill


        Presenter(s)

        Dr Thomas Heffernan  Lecturer, Department of Psychology, Northumbria University, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne

        Abstract

        Background: Smokers, previous smokers and a never smoked group were compared on a real-world measure of prospective memory (PM – the ability of remembering to carry out a particular action(s) at some future point in time).



        Methods: Fourteen current smokers, 17 people who had never smoked and 13 previous smokers were compared using an existing groups design. Scores on a Real World Prospective Memory Task (RWPMT), in which the participant recalled 15 location-action combinations whilst on an actual tour around the university campus, constituted the main dependent measure.  Age, gender, smoking and other drug use, levels of anxiety/depression and IQ were also measured as covariates. Anyone using other substance (e.g. cannabis, ecstasy, ‘legal highs’) was excluded from the analysis.  



        Results: There were no significant between-groups differences on gender, alcohol, anxiety, depression or IQ. A univariate ANCOVA (controlling for age) revealed that both non-smokers and previous smokers recalled significantly more items on the RWPMT when compared with smokers, with no difference between the two former groups.  



        Conclusions: Existing smokers showed reduced performance on real-world PM when compared to the never smoked group and previous smokers. This suggests that smoking cessation leads to significant improvements in everyday memory, in this case PM.



        Source of funding: Northumbria University.

        Declaration of interest: None

         
        Abstract
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