The Prevalence of and Factors Associated with the Use of Smoking Cessation Medication in Korea: Trend between 2005–2011

Abstract

BackgroundIn Korea, nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) has been widely used in government-led, public health center-based smoking cessation services since 2004 and varenicline has become available from 2007 but without reimbursement. In this study which used a series of nationwide cross-sectional surveys in Korea performed from 2005 to 2011, we examined the prevalence of smoking cessation medication use and factors associated with it.MethodsWe analyzed data from the third to fifth waves of Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2005–2011). Prevalence of each smoking cessation method use was calculated for each year, and its secular trend was tested by multivariate logistic regression.ResultsAmong smokers who made quit attempt during the previous year, 15.7% had used smoking cessation medications,15.3% had used NRT, and 0.7% had used prescription medication. There was a significant increasing trend for NRT use (P<0.001) during the study period, but use of prescription medication did not show any increase over time (P = 0.654) Education on smoking prevention and cessation was associated with smoking cessation medications use (OR 2.08, 95% CI 1.58–2.75).ConclusionsWhile the use of NRT has increased over years through government-sponsored smoking cessation programs, use of prescription drugs remained very low and flat probably due to lack of reimbursement. Education of smokers about effective smoking cessation methods and change in reimbursement policy are suggested to stimulate evidence-based smoking cessation practice.

Guilt, censure, and concealment of active smoking status among cancer patients and family members after diagnosis: a nationwide study

“…Although a diagnosis of cancer has been regarded as a ‘teachable moment’ to change the detrimental behaviors of patients and their family members, almost a quarter of our patients and majority of family members reported that they continued smoking for at least 1 month after their diagnosis. While the prevalence of continued smoking in our cancer patient sample (45/990 = 4.5%) is much lower than the reported prevalence in Korea (around 25% in adult population) , that of patients' family (151/990 = 15.3%) was not very different from that of the general population considering the older age and female predominance of our family sample. Continued smoking by patients is especially problematic because it is associated with a poor response to cancer treatment, increased risk of recurrence and secondary cancer, and mortality , and continued smoking by family members is also problematic because it increases the risk of exposure to secondhand smoke, access to cigarettes, and the difficulty of cessation for patients .…”

Quitting smoking before and after varenicline: a population study based on two representative samples of US smokers

“…12 13 It continues to attract attention from researchers and practitioners alike. [14][15][16][17][18][19] Several studies have investigated how much the introduction of varenicline has led to an increase in the overall use of pharmacotherapy. These studies differ in sample size and in methodology.…”

Gambling disorder in financial markets: Clinical and treatment-related features

“…Regarding co-morbid features, disordered gamblers in the financial market were less likely to smoke cigarettes compared with disordered horse race gamblers, although the 51% among the financial markets is higher than the national average of 25.4% based on a nationwide survey on the prevalence of smoking in Korea in 2011 ( Shin et al., 2013 ). Cigarette smoking is also derived from multiple causes such as socio-environmental, psychological and biological factors.…”