Smoking Cessation: Gender on the Agenda

• NCJ Number: 195693
• Journal: Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy Volume: 9 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2002 Pages: 71-84
• Author(s): Maria Rosaria Galanti; Barbro Holm Ivarsson; Asgeir R. Helgason; Hans Gilljam
• Date Published: 2002
• Length: 14 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom

Annotation

This article presents gender-specific predictors of outcome success among cigarette smokers who participated in a specialized outpatient cessation program in Stockholm, Sweden between 1990 and 1992.

Abstract

In this article, the authors set out to analyze the long-term smoking behavior of clients who participated in an outpatient smoking cessation program in Sweden. The authors were particularly interested in assessing gender differences in smoking behavior and cessation outcomes. The authors chose to analyze a specialized treatment program called the Centre for Tobacco Prevention (CTP), which is a publicly run multidisciplinary facility in Sweden that provides health care to 1.8 million residents. The study included all clients registered for the program during 1990 to 1992. All clients were eligible for inclusion in the study, provided they were alive and living in Sweden at the time of follow-up. The authors ended up with a sample of 378 clients who were smokers at their admission to the program. Baseline information on these participants was extracted from computerized records while follow-up data was gained through structured telephone interviews during 1997, which was 5 to 7 years after the clients’ first visit to the program. Univariate analysis compared subgroups of outcomes to gender. Logistic regression was used to analyze explanatory factors for differences in outcome. The results indicate that a high proportion of former clients reported being smoke-free in the 5 to 7 years follow program completion. The study, however, did not show any significant difference between men and women in their ability to stop smoking or to maintain abstinence from smoking. The authors note that this finding is at odds with previous research that indicates women have more difficulty abstaining from cigarette use than men. In conclusion, the authors caution that their results were obtained from a clinical setting, and therefore could not be generalized to non-clinical populations. Tables, figures, and references