Cigarette smoking and quitting behaviors among unemployed adults in the United States

Abstract

Little is known about factors associated with smoking among the unemployed. This study estimated the prevalence of smoking and examined sociodemographic factors associated with current, former, and successful quitting among unemployed adults aged 18-64. Cross-sectional data on 13,480 participants in the 1998-1999 and 2001-2002 Tobacco Use Supplements to the Current Population Surveys were analyzed. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to examine factors associated with study outcomes (current vs. never, former vs. current, successful quitter vs. other former smoker). Among the unemployed, 35% were current smokers and 13% were former smokers. Of the former smokers, 81% quit successfully for at least 12 months. Participants with family incomes of less than US$25,000 were more likely than those with incomes of $50,000 or more to currently smoke (OR52.13, 95% CI51.85-2.46). Service workers and blue-collar workers were less likely than white-collar workers to report former smoking. Participants unemployed for 6 months or more were twice as likely as those unemployed for less than 6 months to quit successfully (OR52.05, 95% CI51.07-3.95). Unemployed blue-collar workers had a greater odds ratio of successfully quitting than white-collar workers (OR51.83, 95% CI51.17-2.87). Smoking rates were high among the unemployed, and quitting behaviors varied by sociodemographic factors and length of unemployment. Studies are needed to examine the feasibility of cessation interventions for the unemployed.

The Impact of Unemployment on Mental and Physical Health, Access to Health Care and Health Risk Behaviors

“…Unemployed participants were significantly more likely to report smoking and poor/fair health compared to employed participants, but the statistical significance did not persist when adjustments for age, income, gender, race, and education were made. Our findings also fail to support earlier work that showed more smoking and decreased physical activity among the unemployed [16,17,29]. Fagan et al found that unemployed people were more likely to smoke than employed people [29].…”

“…Our findings also fail to support earlier work that showed more smoking and decreased physical activity among the unemployed [16,17,29]. Fagan et al found that unemployed people were more likely to smoke than employed people [29]. However, they also found that people who had been unemployed for greater than six months were more likely to successfully stop smoking than people who had been unemployed for less than six months.…”

“…However, they also found that people who had been unemployed for greater than six months were more likely to successfully stop smoking than people who had been unemployed for less than six months. Findings from this study and Fagan et al may suggest that the lower incomes of unemployed and OLF people may play a role in attenuating these behaviors [29]. In general, smoking and alcohol consumption decrease when the economy is in decline, when unemployment rates increase, and people have less discretionary money [27].…”

Economic crisis and the unemployment effect on household food expenditure: The case of Spain

“…Other researchers have corroborated this finding of obesogenic and poorer quality diets in response to unemployment (Drewnowski, 2010;Monsivais et al, 2011Monsivais et al, , 2012Liu et al, 2013). Finally, health researchers have also addressed the implications of unemployment for human health by assessing risk factors such as obesity (Darmon and Drewnowski, 2008), excessive alcohol consumption (Dee, 2001;Mossakowski, 2008), smoking habits (Fagan et al, 2007), medical care (World Bank, 2009), reduced physical activity in leisure time (Grayson, 1993) and mental health (Urbanos-Garrido and López-Valcárcel, 2015). Contradictory studies have, however, reported improved health (reduced obesity, increased physical activity and improved diet) in times of higher unemployment (Ruhm, 2000) and negative effects on physical health in times of economic crisis (Gerdtham and Ruhm, 2006).…”

Unemployment and its association with health-relevant actions: investigating the role of time perspective with German census data

“…A particular occasion for stressing the relevance of time perspective for us is its prominent position in unemployment research. Unemployment has often been stated to provoke a shift from an orientation towards the future to an orientation towards the present (Fagan et al 2007;Montgomery et al 1998;Tismer 1985). Many studies found that unemployment leads to an erosion of biographical plans, an abandonment of the future and a loss of hope.…”