SMOKING CESSATION EXPERIENCE IN A SAMPLE OF MALE EVER SMOKERS IN ERBIL CITY

Volume 12 , Issue 1 , March 2022 , Pages 51-56

Authors

Dlovan Muhammad Fatih Jalal 1 ; Nazar Ahmed Mahmood 2 ; Namir Ghanim Al-Tawil 3 ; Tariq Al-Hadithi 3

1 Cardiac Center, Erbil Health Directorate, Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq.

2 Community Health Department, College of Nursing, University of Kirkuk, Iraq.

3 Community Department, College of Medicine, Hawler Medical University, Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq.

DOI logo 10.17656/jsmc.10343

Keywords

Abstract

Background
In 2015, around 1.1 billion people were smokers, constituting 14.9% of the world population. Worldwide more
than six million peoples die from the direct effects of tobacco. Smoking is still the most important preventable
cause of illness and premature death. According to World Health Organization, smoking in Iraq was 25.8%
among males and 2.5% among females.
Objectives
To find out the proportion of ex-smokers in the studied sample, the ways of quitting smoking among exsmokers, the quitting smoking experience among smokers, and the cause (s) of return back to smoking.
Methods
A cross-sectional study was carried out in Erbil city, including 500 male employees of the headquarters of
three ministries, Health, Education and Planning. All of them were either smokers or ex-smokers. Data was
collected by direct interview with participants, using a questionnaire designed by the researchers. SPSS version
18 was used for data entry and analysis. The Chi-square test of association was used to compare proportions.
P values of ≤ 0.05 were considered statistically significant.
Results
The mean age + SD was 39.2 + 11.6 years, ranging from 19 to 64 years. The proportion of those who quit
successfully (ex-smokers) was 18 %. The majority (97.2%) of the studied sample had tried to quit smoking at
least once in their life. The main reason behind quitting was anticipated health risks (66.3%). The majority
(92.2%) stopped smoking suddenly. More than one third (38.5%) of those who ever tried to quit smoking had
eagerness for cigarettes after quitting.
Conclusion
A considerable proportion of the studied sample have quit smoking, and the majority of them stopped smoking
suddenly without the need for any intervention.

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  • Published at21 March 2022

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