The fact that this potential trend for a decreased
risk for lapse and relapse to smoking for smokers with asthma was
not maintained may be attributable to the fact that smokers with asthma
did not experience the same rate of decrease in severity of withdrawal symptoms and desire to smoke as smokers without asthma. It is possible that this slower decrease in symptoms is the reason why the higher abstinence rates were not maintained in the smokers with asthma group beyond the 14-day follow-up visit. Specifically, the slower decline in withdrawal and craving may be a result of a greater tendency to experience a persistence of ‘internal smoking-specific distress’among smokers with asthma.