American journal of preventive medicine
-
We analyzed data obtained from a representative sample of the smoking patients (n = 1,338) of 66 family physicians to determine predictors of attempts to stop smoking, desire to quit smoking, and successful smoking cessation. Compared to subjects who made no attempt to quit smoking, subjects who tried to quit smoking tended to be younger, had tried to quit smoking in the year prior to the study, waited longer before smoking their first cigarette of the day, had more desire to quit smoking, and had more social support for quitting. Education and cigarettes smoked per day were not independently related to the subject making a quit attempt. ⋯ Compared to subjects who tried to quit and failed, subjects who succeeded were older, smoked fewer cigarettes per day, and waited longer to smoke their first cigarette of the day. Spouse support, support of the second most important social contact, and advice of a doctor to quit smoking were not independently related to whether or not a cessation attempt would be successful. These data suggest that successful smoking cessation requires two components: social support to make an attempt to quit and the ability to overcome dependency on cigarettes to make the attempt successful.
-
Comparative Study
Ethnicity and smoking: differences in white, black, Hispanic, and Asian medical patients who smoke.
To describe differences in the attitudes and behaviors of white, black, Hispanic, and Asian medical patients who smoke, we surveyed 2,835 patients of primary care physicians who participated in a controlled trial on smoking cessation. White smokers smoked more cigarettes per day, were more addicted to cigarettes, had more smoking-related symptoms and illnesses, and were more likely to relate smoking to their symptoms and illnesses. ⋯ Hispanic and Asian smokers more often wanted to quit to keep their children from being exposed to smoking. We conclude that a single approach to helping patients quit smoking is less likely to be effective than one tailored to the ethnic differences among those patients.