 "Photo: Frank Moraleda")
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago recently found that young adult smokers who wish to quit smoking do not seek proven treatments as often as older adults, even though it may double their chances of quitting. Though these smokers have the motivation to quit, only 17 percent use pharmacotherapy and only 4 to 5 percent use any evidence-based behavioral treatment.
The 2005 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), an annual health survey used to represent the noninstitutionalized population of the US, revealed that young adult (aged 18-24) smoking rates are rising to equal and even surpass the rates of other adults (aged 25+). Although, many of these young adult smokers try to quit, they are more likely to relapse and less likely to achieve "non-smoker" status over other adult smokers. This can be credited partial to older adults choosing to use pharmacotherapy.
In the 2005 NHIS, the percent of young adults that reported smoking at the time was 24 percent while only 20 percent of other adults reported doing so. Of the 31,428 persons-aged 18 years and older-the NHIS surveyed, 13,285 reported smoking at least 100 cigarettes in their life time, while 6,511 reported smoking at the time and were subsequently used for this study. The most common treatment for all age groups was the support of family and friends, while the second most commonly used treatment was pharmacotherapy. Though pharmacotherapy is proven to significantly improve the chances of quitting, this therapy was used by only18 percent of young adults, compared to the 32 percent of other adults.
Researchers are still unsure of the exact problem young adults have with using a therapy to help quit, though many reasons have been suggested. One theory involves the fact that a significantly lower number of young adult smokers are exposed to a tobacco intervention. This is, at least in part, due to the higher percentages of young adults lacking the insurance necessary to visit a doctor or dentist and be properly educated on the treatments available. Many of the young adults surveyed, for example, incorrectly believed that nicotine was a cause of cancer and that, accordingly, nicotine-replacement therapy could be harmful to them.
"Receiving advice from health care providers, having higher educational attainment and having health insurance that might cover the cost of treatment are associated with using proven treatments," explains Susan Curry, Director of the UIC Institute for Health Research and Policy.
"We don't know from this study whether the issue is lack of interest in treatment, lack of awareness of treatment, or lake of treatments that appeal to young adult smokes," explains Curry. "There's definitely room for more research to understand how we might spur demand for treatment among young adult smokers."
It must be noted, however, that nicotine addiction is both physical and psychological. Veterans Affairs Family Practice Physician and UIUC Family Medicine Clinical Instructor Percival Moraleda, M.D. stresses that "the willpower to quit must be at the smoker's highest priority, and without this, the efficacy of all smoking cessation treatments are reduced significantly."
The present study was co-authored by Susan J. Curry, PhD, Amy K, Sporer, MA, Oksana Pugach, MPH, Richard T. Campbell, PhD and Sherry Emery, PhD from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
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