Analysis for causes of smoking and its related behavior among visitors at smoking cessation clinics in Macao

Abstract

Two-hundred and sixty-nine smokers who visited smoking cessation clinics in Macao were recruited into the study by simple random sampling, and each of them was interviewed with a standardized questionnaire. The most common causes of initiating smoking included peer influence (53/100, 53% ) and belief in that smoking could relieve stress (88/269, 32. 7% ). The most common barrier to smoking cessation was psychological dependence (221/269, 82.2%), and others such as annoyance, low spirit, boredom and loneliness that lead them to continue smoking, which accounting for 79. 6% (214/269). It issuggested that smoking initiation relates to human psychological factors. At current stage, psychological health education needs to be strengthened for those who want to quit, helping them to learn skills of relaxation, stress relief and elimination of negative emotion. In order to prevent young people from being habitual smokers, relevant sectors should organize more anti-smoking campaigns targeted at adolescents. Key words: Smoking cessation; Behavior, addictive