Elsevier

Addictive Behaviors

Volume 24, Issue 5, September–October 1999, Pages 673-677
Addictive Behaviors

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Age at smoking onset and its effect on smoking cessation

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0306-4603(98)00113-0Get rights and content

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between cessation and age at which person starts smoking. Data from a survey of nine neighborhoods in Philadelphia (1985–1987) were analyzed. Interviews were conducted in the home using a structured questionnaire. Participants were from a probability sample (n = 1,700) of males aged 35 years or older. Sixty-six percent of the smokers in this series started smoking before 18 years of age. Smoking cessation rate was 58.1% in Whites and 38.8% in Blacks. Age, race, marital status, education, health condition, amount smoked, and duration of smoking were significant predictors of smoking cessation. Age at initiation of smoking was a significant factor for continuation of smoking. Men who started smoking before 16 years of age had an odds ratio of 2.1 (95% confidence interval: 1.4–3.0) for not quitting smoking compared to those who started at a later age. These findings emphasize the need for prevention program targeted to children below 16 years of age.

Introduction

It has been estimated that each year at least a million young children start smoking in the United States (Pierce, Fiore, Novotny, & Davis, 1989). Experimentation with smoking has been occurring at earlier ages and the initiation of regular smoking begins almost entirely by age 18 (U.S. Surgeon General, 1991). Early initiation of cigarette smoking has been associated with a greater potential for problems, including greater consumption, longer duration of smoking, and increased nicotine dependence Breslau et al. 1993, Taioli and Wynder 1991.

In this study, we examined the effect of age at initiation of smoking on smoking cessation. We also assessed the influence of age, race, amount smoked, duration of smoking, and occupation on this relationship.

Section snippets

Methods

Data was collected from a population sample survey conducted in Philadelphia between 1985–87. Trained interviewers collected data on personal and ambient environmental factors as well as on morbidity through in-person interviews with a group of households and individuals in Philadelphia selected according to a probability-sampling scheme. The survey methodology is fully described by Dayal, Khuder, Sharrar, and Trieff (1994). Complete data was collected on 1,710 males: 1,057 Whites, 624 Blacks

Results

In this series, 1,220 (71.8%) males were ever-smokers and 480 (28.2%) were nonsmokers. Among ever-smokers, 538 were former smokers (quitters) and 517 were smoking currently, and 145 were not classified (quitters but currently smokings). The latter group was excluded from analyses. Overall, 51% of the males who ever smoked were able to kick the habit. Age was significantly related to smoking status. Age 60 or above had lower prevalence of current smokers and a higher percentage of quitters,

Discussion

The quit rate in our data (51%) is slightly higher than the reported quit rate in the United States. The report of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (1989) states that from 1974 to 1985, the overall adult quit rates increased from about 35% to 44% at a rate of 0.76 percentage points per year. The quit rate was higher in the older age group (60 years) than in the younger age group (35–59 years). This finding is consistent with other reports in the literature (Breslau et al., 1993;

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