Sociodemographic predictors of success in smoking intervention

Aim-To examine the role of sociodemographic factors as predictors of sustai ned smoking cessation for the population who volunteer to participate in in tervention programmes. Method-Data for the 3575 smokers who participated in the CEASE (collaborati ve European anti-smoking evaluation) trial, a European multicentred study t hat used transdermal nicotine patches as an adjunct to smoking cessation in the chest clinic, were analysed. The effects of age, sex, smoking habit, s ocioeconomic status (housing conditions, education, and employment), diseas e, smoking habits of relatives, and baseline markers of tobacco use on sust ained smoking cessation (self-reported abstinence and expired carbon monoxi de < 10 parts per million) were assessed using logistic regression modellin g (odds ratio (OR), 95% confidence interval (CI)). Results-477/3575 smokers were sustained abstainers one year after the inter vention (overall success rate 13.3%). In the univariable logistic regressio n models an effect of active treatment on smoking cessation was observed (O R 1.50, 95% CI 1.15 to 1.96), and additional effects on outcome were found for age (OR 1.02, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.03), sex (men v women: OR 1.38, 95% CI 1 .14 to 1.68), housing conditions (OR 1.43, 95% CI 1.25 to 1.65), current re spiratory (OR 0.79, 95% CI 0.67 to 0.92) or cardiac disease (OR 0.46, 95% C I 0.28 to 0.75), and markers of tobacco use (cigarettes per day: OR 0.79, 9 5% CI 0.69 to 0.90; expired carbon monoxide: OR 0.98, 95% CI 0.97 to 0.99). Education and employment did not have a significant effect on the outcome. The effect of the variables associated with success in smoking cessation p ersisted after adjustment for covariates. Conclusion-Age, sex, and housing conditions have a major effect on smoking cessation in European smokers participating in smoking cessation programmes .