INTRODUCTION Mauritius has one of the highest rates of smoking in Africa. Smoking cessation is a priority for preventing tobacco-related morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this study is to identify the predictors of quit intentions among smokers in Mauritius in order to strengthen tobacco control policies and inform the development and delivery of services that may increase the likelihood of successful quitting. METHODS Data were drawn from Wave 1 (2009) of the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Mauritius Survey, a face-to-face cohort survey of a nationally representative sample of 598 adult smokers who were randomly selected from nine geographic districts in Mauritius using a multistage sampling procedure. RESULTS The vast majority of smokers (77.8%) had plans to quit smoking. Longer duration of past quit attempts (6 months or less), perceiving benefits of quitting, worrying about smoking damaging health in the future, and not enjoying smoking were significantly associated with quit intentions. However, socio-demographic characteristics, past quit attempts, overall attitude about smoking, and Heaviness of Smoking Index (HSI) were not associated with quit intentions. CONCLUSIONS The predictors of quit intentions among Mauritian smokers were generally similar to those found among smokers in other high-and middle-income countries. However, in contrast to findings in those other countries, nicotine dependence as measured by the HSI was not a significant predictor of quit intentions among Mauritian smokers. These findings highlight the need to consider the predictors of quit intentions when developing and delivering smoking cessation support services in Mauritius.

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These results suggest that tobacco control policies, including sizeable tax increases, were progressive in their impact. We conclude that tobacco use increases poverty and inequality, but stronger tobacco control policies can mitigate the impact of tobacco use on impoverishment.

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