Research

Correlates of smoking quit attempts: Florida Tobacco Callback Survey, 2007

Evelyn P Davila¹ , Wei Zhao² , Margaret Byrne¹ , Monica Webb³ , Yougie Huang⁴ , Kristopher Arheart¹ , Noella Dietz¹ , Alberto Caban-Martinez¹ , Dorothy Parker⁵ and David J Lee¹

¹  Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Miami, USA

²  Sylvester Biostatistics Core Resource, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA

³  Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA

⁴  Florida Department of Health, Bureau of Epidemiology, Tallahassee, FL, USA

⁵  Disparities and Community Outreach Core, University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, Miami, FL, USA

author email corresponding author email

Tobacco Induced Diseases 2009, 5:10doi:10.1186/1617-9625-5-10

Published:	29 June 2009

Abstract

Objective

The public health burden of tobacco-associated diseases in the USA remains high, in part because many people's attempts to quit are unsuccessful. This study examined factors associated with having lifetime or recent attempts to quit smoking among current smokers, based on a telephone survey of Florida adults.

Methods

Data from the 2007 telephone-based Florida Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and its follow-up survey, the Tobacco Callback Survey, were used to assess determinants of having ever attempted to quit smoking and attempted to quit smoking in the past 12 months. All analyses were conducted using SAS.

Results

Among 3,560 current smokers, 41.5% reported having tried to quit smoking in the past 12 months while 83.4% reported having ever tried to quit. Having a history of a tobacco-related medical condition was significantly associated with both recent (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) 1.41 [Confidence Interval 1.19–1.65]) and lifetime quit attempts (AOR 1.43 [1.15–1.79]). Greater nicotine dependence and being advised by a physician to quit smoking were also positively associated with lifetime quit attempts.

Receipt of healthcare provider advice to quit smoking in the past 12 months and a strong belief that quitting following a long history of regular smoking would not result in health benefits and belief that there are health benefits to quitting smoking were associated with lifetime quit attempts.

Conclusion

Targeted smoking cessation interventions are needed for smokers with selected medical conditions and with high nicotine dependence. The importance of physician advice in encouraging individuals to quit is further highlighted.