Elsevier

Preventive Medicine

Volume 27, Issue 4, July 1998, Pages 553-561
Preventive Medicine

Regular Article
Gender Differences among Smokers and Quitters in the Working Well Trial,☆☆

https://doi.org/10.1006/pmed.1998.0325Get rights and content

Abstract

Background. Gender differences in smoking and smoking cessation among participants in the Working Well Trial are characterized.

Methods. A prospective randomized matched-pair evaluation was conducted among 90 predominantly blue-collar worksites. Cross-sectional surveys of employees' tobacco use behaviors were conducted at baseline and after a 2.5-year smoking cessation intervention. Respondents included 5,523 females and 12,313 males at baseline and 4,663 females and 10,919 males at follow-up. The main outcome measures included self-reported continuous smoking abstinence rates for 7 days and for 6 months.

Results. Smoking prevalence was significantly higher for women than for men at baseline, but not at follow-up. Variables believed to influence smoking cessation were compared at baseline. Significant gender differences were found for number of cigarettes smoked/day, number of previous quit attempts, job strain, stage of change, and behavioral processes of change. At follow-up, no gender differences in quit rates were observed; however, women in the intervention condition were more likely to quit than women in the control condition, whereas no differences were seen among men by treatment condition.

Conclusions. Gender is not a strong predictor of smoking cessation in this population; however, women were more likely to quit with an intervention than without one.

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  • Cited by (0)

    This work was was supported by a Cooperative Agreement from the National Cancer Institute, Grants U01 CA51687, U01 CA51671, U01 CA51686, U01 CA516888, and P01 CA50087. Data analyses were conducted by the Coordinating Center for the Cooperative Agreement (FHCRC).

    ☆☆

    The authors gratefully acknowledge Carlo DiClemente, Ph.D., for his contributions and review of the manuscript.

    2

    To whom correspondence and reprint requests should be addressed. Fax: 713 794-4730.

    3

    A complete roster of the Working Well Trial study centers, principal investigators, and study personnel is available from the corresponding author.

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