Participants in the 2012 Youth Insights Survey (YIS) were asked about whether they wanted to stop smoking, whether they had tried to quit in the past year (12 months), and whether they were smoking at the time of the survey. Responses were examined by ethnicity, gender, school decile status and early smoking uptake (whether or not respondent first tried a cigarette before age 10).
Methodology
Participants in the 2012 YIS were asked about whether they wanted to stop smoking, whether they had tried to quit in the past year (12 months), and whether they were smoking at the time of the survey. Responses were examined by ethnicity, gender, school decile status and early smoking uptake (whether or not respondent first tried a cigarette before age 10). Only those group differences which were statistically significant (p<.05) are reported.
The analyses were restricted to different sub-groups of respondents, depending on the particular population of interest. Analysis on desire to stop smoking was restricted to current smokers (those who smoked at least monthly, n=222). Analysis on past year quit attempts was restricted to those who had smoked in the past year (n=372). Analysis to determine successful quit attempts was restricted to those who had made a quit attempt in the past year (n=251).
Further analyses were undertaken to determine changes over time as these questions were also asked in 2006, 2008 and 2010.
Key Results
- Around one-half of young people who currently smoke want to stop smoking now.
- Around two-thirds of young people who smoked in the past year had tried to stop smoking during that time.
- Around one-quarter of those who had tried to stop smoking in the past year no longer smoked at the time of the survey.
- There has been little change in the rates of young people desiring, attempting, or successfully stopping smoking since 2006.