Making a recent quit attempt is one of the factors that predicts further quit attempts. However, little is known whether or not making a recent quit attempt also predicts attitudes towards smoking and tobacco control strategies. The Health Promotion Agency’s (HPA’s) 2012 Health and Lifestyles Survey (HLS) asked about attitudes towards smoking in general and opinions on specific tobacco control strategies. This fact sheet compares the responses from two groups of current smokers: those who had made at least one quit attempt in the last 12 months, and those who had not.
Methodology
For this analysis, current smokers (smoked at least monthly) were stratified into two groups: those who had made at least one serious quit attempt that lasted for at least 24 hours in the past 12 months (n=341), and those who had not made a serious quit attempt in the past 12 months (n=318). These two groups are referred as ‘quit-attempters’ and ‘non-attempters’ hereafter.
In the 2012 HLS, respondents were asked the extent to which they agreed or disagreed with a series of statements about smoking and tobacco control interventions, using a five-point scale that ranged from ‘strongly agree’ to ‘strongly disagree’. ‘Strongly agree’ and ‘agree’ responses were combined, and compared by past 12-month quit status.
Statistically significant differences (p < .05) are reported.
Key Results
- Quit-attempters and non-attempters did not differ in their attitudes towards smoking in general and their opinions on tobacco control measures that protect children from exposure to second-hand smoke.
- However, compared with non-attempters, quit-attempters were more likely to believe that the Government should take more action to reduce the availability of tobacco and agree with implementing the specific measures that could restrict access to tobacco.
- Quit-attempters were also more likely to agree with having an annual tax increase on tobacco, and removing tobacco displays from shops.