Sex differences in attitudes and experiences concerning smoking and cessation: Results from an international survey

Abstract

Objective Males and females may have different attitudes and experiences concerning smoking and smoking cessation. We examined sex differences in reasons for smoking, motivations for quitting, past quit attempts, and types of cessation support provided by physicians by surveying randomly selected smokers from 16 countries. Methods Current cigarette smokers were surveyed by telephone about their attitudes and experiences regarding smoking and smoking cessation. Results Of the 3760 respondents, 1516 (40.3%) were female. Overall, females reported more reasons for smoking, were more likely to be motivated to quit by life changes, and more likely to use medications or counselling for smoking cessation than males. Although 70% of respondents recalled their physician asking about smoking and advising quitting, only 39% of females and 26% of males recalled being offered assistance for cessation. Females recalled more frequent prescription or recommendation of pharmaceutical cessation aids and more assistance in setting a quit date. Conclusion Males and females have different attitudes and experiences when it comes to smoking and cessation. Practice implications Health care providers can significantly influence smoking-cessation success by offering efficacious treatment to patients. Our data will help physicians to optimally tailor smoking-cessation interventions to patients, according to their sex.