Editor—An important fraction of all smokers are intermittent, non-daily smokers,1-3 and the proportion of intermittent smokers may even be rising.1 4Intermittent smokers are younger and have a higher educational and occupational status than daily smokers.1 4 Some intermittent smokers are either in the uptake phase of smoking, or are preparing for smoking cessation. However, intermittent smoking can also be a long term behaviour.1 2 Intermittent smokers are more likely than daily smokers to have a strong intention to quit smoking. They are also more likely to actively start the process of smoking cessation.1 5 Intermittent smokers probably also suffer less severe withdrawal symptoms during cessation attempts than do daily smokers and, therefore, have a greater potential for success.1 Intermittent smokers perceive quitting as not being very difficult.6 However, there are no studies concerning the prevalence of the desire to stop smoking among intermittent compared to daily smokers.

The public health survey in Malmö 1994 is a cross sectional study. A total of 5600 individuals born in 1913, 1923, 1933, 1943, 1953, 1963, 1968, and 1973 were randomly selected from the general Malmö population and interviewed by a postal questionnaire in the spring of 1994. …