Quit Attempts in US Female Nurses vs the General Population
Quit Attempts in US Female Nurses vs the General Population
Smoking is a significant concern for women's health including the health of the predominantly female nursing profession. Viewing smoking among women by professional group provides a context for understanding the culture of smoking behavior and supporting targeted quit efforts. The purposes of this analysis of the Tobacco Use Supplement-Current Population Survey (TUS-CPS) are to explore smoking and quitting characteristics among female nurses as compared to women in the general population, and to examine factors associated with quit attempts which might support tailored smoking cessation programs for a predominantly female health profession.
In 1964 a Surgeon General Report demonstrated the negative impact of smoking on health, using primarily data from men. The report had no impact on decreasing smoking among women. Subsequent Surgeon General Reports on smoking and women's health were published in 1980 and 2001, using extensive data from the Nurses' Health Study. Thus, female nurses significantly contributed to our understanding of the impact of smoking on women and the benefits of quitting. Analysis of smoking trends among participants in the Nurses' Health Study revealed that quitting smoking continued to be difficult across age groups, with nurses who continued to smoke having decreased survival and lower quality of life.
Over 46 million Americans 18 years and older currently smoke (17.9% of women and 23.5% of men) with slower rates of decline among women, pointing to a need to better understand quitting behavior among women. Differences of smoking rates by ethnicity, education and income exist among women and parallel that of smokers in the general population, with highest prevalence among women with lower levels of education and income.
Smoking is highly addictive and only 3% to 5% of those making an unaided quit attempt are abstinent one year later. In 2008, 45.3% of current adult smokers (20.8 million people) stopped smoking for one day or more in the previous year because they were trying to quit. A report of quit attempts among women of reproductive age indicated that while the majority of daily smokers made a quit attempt, fewer than half were successful in quitting, and only one fourth of daily smokers in the 18-24 years of age group succeeded. Similar to smoking, quitting is inversely associated with education level.
Differences in smoking among occupational groups also exist which support the need for easily accessible tobacco dependence treatment appropriate to the characteristics of the workers and the worksite. Among occupational groups, current smoking among healthcare practitioners, reported at 11.8%, was not separated by sex. Understanding smoking prevalence by occupation, especially in largely female occupations, is useful for developing strategies to support quit efforts of female smokers. Comparison of smoking behaviors of female nurses with other women provides a new perspective on the culture of smoking and quitting behaviors in the workplace. Changes in smoking among healthcare providers have been reported (1974–1991) with smoking declining more rapidly among physicians than among Registered Nurses (RNs) and Licensed Practical Nurses. An analysis of smoking among healthcare professionals in the 2003 and 2006/2007 TUS-CPS revealed that smoking among RNs was 10.7% and among LPNs, 20.6%, with physicians and dentists having clearly lower smoking prevalence (2.3% and 3.0%, respectively). There was no statistically significant change in current smoking between the 2003 and 2006/07 RN and LPN cohorts. Calculation of quit ratios, determined by the ratio of former smokers to ever smokers, indicated that LPNs were the only group with a lower quit ratio than the general public. Supporting the quit efforts of healthcare providers is vital because healthcare professionals who smoke may be less likely to assist patients who smoke to quit. Although there have been national efforts to support nurse in their quit efforts, data about nurses' quitting are limited.
The primary research objectives for this study comparing female nurses who smoke to female smokers in the general population were to: 1) assess lifetime quit attempts and quit attempts within the previous 12 months, 2) evaluate smoking characteristics (i.e., age of initiation, years of smoking, number of cigarettes per day, and time to first cigarette), and 3) to determine the relationship of smoking characteristics to quit attempts.
Background
Smoking is a significant concern for women's health including the health of the predominantly female nursing profession. Viewing smoking among women by professional group provides a context for understanding the culture of smoking behavior and supporting targeted quit efforts. The purposes of this analysis of the Tobacco Use Supplement-Current Population Survey (TUS-CPS) are to explore smoking and quitting characteristics among female nurses as compared to women in the general population, and to examine factors associated with quit attempts which might support tailored smoking cessation programs for a predominantly female health profession.
In 1964 a Surgeon General Report demonstrated the negative impact of smoking on health, using primarily data from men. The report had no impact on decreasing smoking among women. Subsequent Surgeon General Reports on smoking and women's health were published in 1980 and 2001, using extensive data from the Nurses' Health Study. Thus, female nurses significantly contributed to our understanding of the impact of smoking on women and the benefits of quitting. Analysis of smoking trends among participants in the Nurses' Health Study revealed that quitting smoking continued to be difficult across age groups, with nurses who continued to smoke having decreased survival and lower quality of life.
Over 46 million Americans 18 years and older currently smoke (17.9% of women and 23.5% of men) with slower rates of decline among women, pointing to a need to better understand quitting behavior among women. Differences of smoking rates by ethnicity, education and income exist among women and parallel that of smokers in the general population, with highest prevalence among women with lower levels of education and income.
Smoking is highly addictive and only 3% to 5% of those making an unaided quit attempt are abstinent one year later. In 2008, 45.3% of current adult smokers (20.8 million people) stopped smoking for one day or more in the previous year because they were trying to quit. A report of quit attempts among women of reproductive age indicated that while the majority of daily smokers made a quit attempt, fewer than half were successful in quitting, and only one fourth of daily smokers in the 18-24 years of age group succeeded. Similar to smoking, quitting is inversely associated with education level.
Differences in smoking among occupational groups also exist which support the need for easily accessible tobacco dependence treatment appropriate to the characteristics of the workers and the worksite. Among occupational groups, current smoking among healthcare practitioners, reported at 11.8%, was not separated by sex. Understanding smoking prevalence by occupation, especially in largely female occupations, is useful for developing strategies to support quit efforts of female smokers. Comparison of smoking behaviors of female nurses with other women provides a new perspective on the culture of smoking and quitting behaviors in the workplace. Changes in smoking among healthcare providers have been reported (1974–1991) with smoking declining more rapidly among physicians than among Registered Nurses (RNs) and Licensed Practical Nurses. An analysis of smoking among healthcare professionals in the 2003 and 2006/2007 TUS-CPS revealed that smoking among RNs was 10.7% and among LPNs, 20.6%, with physicians and dentists having clearly lower smoking prevalence (2.3% and 3.0%, respectively). There was no statistically significant change in current smoking between the 2003 and 2006/07 RN and LPN cohorts. Calculation of quit ratios, determined by the ratio of former smokers to ever smokers, indicated that LPNs were the only group with a lower quit ratio than the general public. Supporting the quit efforts of healthcare providers is vital because healthcare professionals who smoke may be less likely to assist patients who smoke to quit. Although there have been national efforts to support nurse in their quit efforts, data about nurses' quitting are limited.
The primary research objectives for this study comparing female nurses who smoke to female smokers in the general population were to: 1) assess lifetime quit attempts and quit attempts within the previous 12 months, 2) evaluate smoking characteristics (i.e., age of initiation, years of smoking, number of cigarettes per day, and time to first cigarette), and 3) to determine the relationship of smoking characteristics to quit attempts.
