Relationship between education levels and booster counselling sessions on smoking cessation among Chinese smokers

Abstract

ObjectivesAlthough various effective interventions are available to help individuals quit smoking, the effect of educational levels on cessation rates has rarely been studied, and of the few intervention studies on this topic, the results have been conflicting.Design and settingFrom October 2008 to August 2013, a partly retrospective non-randomised study was conducted in a smoking cessation clinic of a large general hospital in Beijing, China.ParticipantsIn total, 547 Chinese smokers who sought treatment were divided into two groups: a face-to-face counselling group (FC, n=149) and an FC group subjected to four telephone follow-up sessions (FCF, n=398).OutcomesWe evaluated self-reported cessation rates by day 7 and after 6 and 12 months and stratified the two groups by education levels.ResultsThe 7-day and 6-month and 12-month continuous cessation rates of smokers of low education levels in the FC group at the time of the 12-month follow-up were 12.5%, 7.1% and 7.1%, respectively, which were lower than those of the highly educated smokers (16.1%, 12.9% and 9.7%, respectively). The results were opposite for the FCF group. The corresponding results for the highly educated smokers of the FCF group were 25.0%, 17.2% and 10.3%, respectively, which were lower than those for the smokers of low education levels (28.3%, 22.9% and 18.1%, respectively). However, significant differences were observed only among the FCF group participants who had experienced 12 months of continuous abstinence, and the crude OR for these individuals was recorded at 0.52 (0.29 to 0.93), p=0.03. A stepwise logistic regression showed that education levels may play a role in various intervention methods. Being married and higher Fagerström test scores were also predictors of cessation tendencies.ConclusionsEducation levels may affect the benefits of booster counselling sessions on smoking cessation among Chinese smokers.

Cigarette Smoking, Health-Related Behaviors, and Burnout Among Mental Health Professionals in China: A Nationwide Survey

“…Young health professionals in China are provided universal education on the harms of smoking and tend to have positive attitudes towards smoking bans (45), both of which may account for their lower smoking rates. Perhaps for the same reasons, those with higher levels of education have been more successful in quitting smoking than those with lower levels of education (46).Previous studies found that being divorced or separated was more likely to be associated with lower life satisfaction and predicted a higher risk of smoking than being married (29,47). In addition, we found significant regional differences in smoking, with higher rates in West and Northeast China than those in East China.…”

Long-Term Outcomes of a Comprehensive Mobile Smoking Cessation Program With Nicotine Replacement Therapy in Adult Smokers: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

“…The finding that a lower educational level (no college experience) was associated with a higher likelihood of biochemically confirmed abstinence has also been reported elsewhere [ 60 , 61 ]. However, reports on the association between higher educational levels and successful cessation are more common [ 19 , 57 , 58 , 62 - 64 ].…”

Long-Term Outcomes of a Comprehensive Mobile Smoking Cessation Program With Nicotine Replacement Therapy in Adult Smokers: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial (Preprint)

“…The finding that a lower educational level (no college experience) was associated with a higher likelihood of biochemically confirmed abstinence has also been reported elsewhere [60,61]. However, reports on the association between higher educational levels and successful cessation are more common [19,57,58,[62][63][64].…”