Dynamics of smoking cessation and health-related quality of life among Canadians

This study describes trajectories of health-related quality of life (HRQL) in relation to smoking status. A specific focus is a comparison between former and never-smokers, with the aim of quantifying the time required after quitting for the HRQL of former smokers to be similar to that of never-smokers. An important advantage to the analysis was the availability of longitudinal data from the National Population Health Survey, which collected information from survey participants every two years over a 16-year period.