Introduction:
The Lazarus and Folkman model (1984) defines coping as a constantly changing cognitive and behavioral effort to manage specific external or internal situations that are considered to exceed the individual's resources. There are three types of coping: problem-focused coping, coping with the stressful situation through efforts to modify the problem at hand; emotion-focused, management of the maladaptive emotions that are associated with the situation; and transcendence-focused, turning to a higher self to manage the problem. In the process of smoking cessation and maintenance of abstinence, it is important to know the coping strategies used by the person to manage stress. The aim of the present study is to assess whether the type of coping strategy determines the chances of success in smoking cessation.

Material and Methods:
Descriptive correlational study with a group of smokers attending a smoking cessation course at AECC. Variables analyzed: sex, age, type of coping and abstinence rate.

Results:
N=30; 42.3% women and 57.7% men with a mean age of 52.3. 6.7% coping focused on transcendence;26.7% focused on emotions and 66.7% focused on coping. 53.3% quit smoking. No statistically significant differences were found between abstinence rate and type of coping (p= 0.262).

Conclusions:
There is no one type of coping that facilitates smoking cessation. However, if the type of coping is known, it is possible to work to enhance these strategies and thus favor cessation, since people who are able to increase their problem-focused coping strategies and decrease their emotion-focused coping strategies are more successful in achieving smoking cessation than those who do not.