Predictors of Abstinence from Smoking: A Retrospective Study of Male College Students Enrolled in a Smoking Cessation Service.

Yeji Lee,Kang-Sook Lee,Haena Kim

doi:10.3390/ijerph16183363

Abstract

There were high smoking rates among young male college students in Korea. We aimed to investigate the prevalence of and factors affecting abstinence from smoking following smoking cessation service attendance in this population. Data were collected between 1 August 2015 and 20 August 2018. Participants were administered more than nine face-to-face and telephone counseling sessions by trained tobacco cessation specialists for six months. Follow-up assessments were conducted at 4, 6, and 12 weeks, and 6 months after the quit date. A total of 3978 male college student smokers were enrolled; their mean age was 23.17 (±3.45) years. Almost one-third of the participants (64.9%) reported that they had attempted to quit during the past year. The number of cigarettes smoked per day, CO ppm, and Fagerström Test of Nicotine Dependence score at the baseline were negatively associated with abstinence, while motivational variables—importance, confidence, and readiness—were positively associated with abstinence. Our results suggest that provision of visiting smoking cessation services can be an active intervention platform for college student smokers who need professional assistance or support. Active and accessible support should be provided to such people. Visiting a smoking cessation service may result in increased long-term abstinence rates in such students.

Highlights

One of the major goals of tobacco control is reducing smoking among young adults, as quitting at an early age allows for the avoidance of the more harmful health consequences of smoking as well as tobacco-related mortality [1,2]
Low level of nicotine dependence was observed in more than half of the participants (60.8%), and those who were successful in quitting smoking for six months were likelier to have a lower Fagerström Test of Nicotine Dependence (FTND) score (2.12 ± 2.10 vs. 3.30 ± 2.12, p < 0.001) than those who were not
Consistent with previous studies, which showed that a stronger nicotine dependency was negatively associated with a failure to stop smoking [21,22], our study revealed that a stronger nicotine dependency at the baseline led to lower abstinence rates

Summary

Introduction

One of the major goals of tobacco control is reducing smoking among young adults, as quitting at an early age allows for the avoidance of the more harmful health consequences of smoking as well as tobacco-related mortality [1,2]. In Korea, the proportion of those receiving higher education, such as a college or university education, is 69.7%. Among young adults in their 20s, attendance in postsecondary institutions is high [3]. Seoul was around 0.98 million, accounting for the greatest proportion (29%) of all university students in Korea (~3.4 million) [4]. The proportion of male young adult smokers (aged 19–29 years) was. 37.3%—the greatest in the male smoker population [5]. It was shown that there were high smoking rates among young male college students in Korea. According to the regional health assessment performed by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the proportion of male postsecondary student smokers was 30.0% in 2014 [6]. The starting age of lifetime smoking among people aged

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