Social Disparities in Unaided Quit Attempts Among Daily Current and Former Smokers: Results From the 2010-2011 Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey

Introduction: There are well-documented inverse relationships between smoking and smoking cessation with measures of socioeconomic status. This study used nationally representative data to examine unaided quit attempts and their sociodemographic determinants among daily current and former smokers who made a quit attempt in the last 12 months.

Methods: We used data from the 2010-2011 Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey. We limited the analysis to current daily smokers who made a quit attempt in the past year and former smokers who were daily smokers 1 year prior to the survey (N = 8201).

Results: Nearly 62% (n = 5078) of the sample made an unaided quit attempt. Adjusted results indicated unaided quit attempts were more likely among males compared to females (P < .001), younger age groups compared to older age groups (P < .001), non-Hispanic blacks compared to non-Hispanic whites (P < .001), among people with lower income compared to people with higher income (P < .001), and among people with lower nicotine dependence compared to those with higher nicotine dependence (P < .001).

Conclusions: Most quit attempts were unaided and there were significant sociodemographic disparities in unaided quit attempts. Considering that cessation aids enhance the likelihood of quitting, policies and programs should target populations which are more likely to attempt quitting without an aid and encourage them to use or provide subsidized cessation aids. Healthcare providers should advise their patients about approaches to quitting.

Implications: This study used the most recent nationally representative data for the United States to examine sociodemographic disparities in unaided quitting among current and former daily smokers who made a quit attempt in the last 12 months. Most quit attempts were unaided. People who were male, younger, non-Hispanic black, had lower nicotine dependence, and those who were low income were more likely to make an unaided quit attempt. These results could be used by policy makers and program planners to develop cessation interventions directed at specific populations to improve smoking cessation rates.