| Summary: | Introduction
Despite comprehensive tobacco control policies being in
place since 1992, smoking prevalence in Thailand has not declined
since 2009, indicating a potential need for individual-level measures.
This study examined factors influencing successful smoking cessation
attempts in Thailand.
Methods
With a case-control design, smoking cessation experiences of
284 successful (defined as having quit smoking for at least six months)
and 837 unsuccessful quitters, who were all lifetime daily smokers,
were compared, using sociodemographic data, smoking behaviors, and
smoking cessation experiences from their last quitting attempt. Data
were collected between August and December 2020. Multivariateadjusted
logistic regressions were employed.
Results
Unaided smoking cessation was the most popular method among
Thais attempting to quit smoking; more than 99% of both successful and
unsuccessful quitters used this method. A significantly higher proportion
of successful quitters favored stopping their smoking abruptly than
did unsuccessful quitters. Depending on the cessation phases (nicotine
withdrawal or relapse prevention), cessation-supporting factors included
a doctor’s recommendation to stop smoking due to smoker’s sickness
(OR=2.6; 95% CI: 1.9–3.6), having a grandchild (OR=2.5; 95% CI:
1.1–5.6) or child (OR=2.0; 95% CI: 1.2–3.1), exercising (OR=13.9;
95% CI: 7.2–26.9), avoiding smokers (OR=6.7; 95% CI: 4.1–11.1), selfefficacy
(OR=8.5; 95% CI: 3.6–20.0), having a good appetite (OR=1.9;
95% CI: 1.3–2.8), wishing to avoid the unpleasant smell of other
people’s smoking after cessation (OR=3.7; 95% CI: 2.5–5.5), smoking
prohibitions in public places (OR=2.8; 95% CI: 1.2–6.4) and workplaces
(OR=4.5; 95% CI: 1.9–10.3), and expensive tobacco (OR=1.9; 95% CI:
1.3–2.9). Barriers to successful cessation included using roll-your-own
(OR=0.4; 95% CI: 0.3–0.5), insomnia (OR=0.3; 95% CI: 0.2–0.5), social
pressure to smoke (OR=0.4; 95% CI: 0.3–0.6), associating smoking
with a habit/specific activity (OR=0.4; 95% CI: 0.3–0.5), and pleasure
of smoking (OR=0.5; 95% CI: 0.3–0.7).
Conclusions
This study highlights several factors found to influence
successful smoking cessation among Thai smokers which can be used
to design a guideline for unaided smoking cessation, and for smoking
cessation enhancement programs and policies.
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