Evaluation of smoking cessation behaviors and interventions among Latino smokers at low-income clinics in a US-Mexico border county

Addict Behav. 2008 Feb;33(2):373-80. doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2007.09.022. Epub 2007 Oct 5.

Abstract

A descriptive study of 94 Latino smokers receiving nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) in US-Mexico border clinics in El Paso County, Texas was conducted. A baseline questionnaire and two follow-up telephone surveys (8-12 weeks and 6 months) were administered to evaluate smoking habits, behaviors, and cessation interventions. Participants reported an average daily cigarette consumption of 15 cigarettes and smoked within 30 min of waking (44%). Primary motivations for quitting were personal health (95%), family's health (74%), and doctor's advice (71%). Female smokers were more likely to smoke due to being anxious (p=0.012), not being able to sleep (p=0.02), or to feel thin (p=0.002). Male smokers were more likely to smoke when drinking alcohol (p=0.005). Nearly 40% of smokers reported they had never tried to quit before. Medication use at baseline was 82% patch, 53% lozenge, 29% gum, and 24% bupropion (combination therapy permitted). At 8-12 weeks, nearly two-thirds of patients were quit and 44% remained quit at six months. Smoking habits, behaviors, and successful cessation interventions among Latinos in a US-Mexico border community were identified.

Publication types

  • Evaluation Study
  • Multicenter Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Female
  • Hispanic or Latino / psychology*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Motivation
  • Nicotine / therapeutic use
  • Nicotinic Agonists / therapeutic use
  • Poverty Areas
  • Prospective Studies
  • Sex Factors
  • Smoking / ethnology
  • Smoking Cessation / ethnology
  • Smoking Cessation / methods*
  • Smoking Cessation / psychology
  • Smoking Prevention
  • Social Support
  • Texas
  • Tobacco Use Disorder / ethnology
  • Tobacco Use Disorder / rehabilitation*

Substances

  • Nicotinic Agonists
  • Nicotine