Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Youth smokers’ beliefs about different cessation approaches: are we providing cessation interventions they never intend to use?

  • Original Research
  • Published:
Cancer Causes & Control Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Introduction

Most youth smokers intend to quit, but the majority is neither aware nor interested in most conventional cessation approaches. As such, a critical first step in understanding youth cessation is to better understand the beliefs youth have about different cessation options.

Methods

This cross-sectional study used self-reported data collected from 26,379 grade 9 to 12 students in Ontario, Canada. We examined both the attitudes of youth smokers toward common smoking cessation approaches and factors associated with intentions to join a school-based cessation program.

Results

The majority of youth smokers intend to quit smoking but tend to have negative attitudes toward most formal smoking cessation approaches; Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) was an exception. Among occasional smokers, self-identification as a smoker and being physically active were positively associated with intending to join a school-based cessation program. Having tried to quit smoking at least once in the past year more than doubled the likelihood of being interested in a school-based program among both occasional and daily smokers.

Conclusion

Findings have the potential for informing the development of more effective campaigns for engaging adolescent smokers into smoking cessation treatment. Results also reinforce the need for programmatic innovation within and beyond school settings.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Health Canada (2005) Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey (CTUMS): Annual results 2004. Tobacco Control Program. Ottawa, Ontario: Health Canada, (http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hecs-sesc/tobacco/research/ctums/index.html)

  2. Doll R, Peto R, Boreham J, Sutherland I (2004) Mortality in relation to smoking: 50 years’ observations on male British doctors. BMJ 26;328(7455):1519

    Google Scholar 

  3. Leatherdale ST, McDonald P (2005) What smoking cessation approaches will young smokers use? Addict Behav 30:1614–1618

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2001) Youth tobacco surveillance—United States, 2000. MMWR 50:1–84

    Google Scholar 

  5. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (1994) Preventing tobacco use among young people: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office of Smoking and Health

  6. Mermelstein R (2003) Teen smoking cessation. Tob Control 12:25–34

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Leatherdale ST (2006) School-based smoking cessation programs: do youth smokers want to participate in these programs? Addict Behav 31:1449–1453

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Myers MG, MacPherson L (2004) Smoking cessation efforts among substance abusing adolescents. Drug Alcohol Depend 73:209–213

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Grimshaw G, Stanton A, Blackburn C et al (2003) Patterns of smoking, quit attempts and services for a chort of 15- to 19-year-olds. Child Care Health Dev 29:457–464

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Turner LR, Mermelstein R, Berbaum ML, Veldhuis CB (2004) School-based smoking cessation programs for adolescents: what predicts attendance? Nicotine Tob Res 6:559–568

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Vuckovic N, Polen MR, Hollis JF (2003) The problem is getting us to stop. What teens say about smoking cessation. Prev Med 37:209–218

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Ajzen I (1991) The theory of planned behavior. Organ Behav Hum Decis Processes 50:179–211

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Bandura A (1986) Social foundations of thought and action: a social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall

    Google Scholar 

  14. Balch GI, Tworek C, Barker DC, Sasso B, Mermelstein R, Giovino G (2004) Opportunities for youth smoking cessation: findings from a national focus group study. Nicotine Tob Res 6:9–17

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Leatherdale ST, McDonald PW (2006) Are the recommended stage taxonomies for the stages of youth smoking onset consistent with youth’s perceptions of their smoking status? Can J Pub Health 97:316–319

    Google Scholar 

  16. de Ruiter W, Faulkner G (2006) Tobacco harm reduction strategies: the case for physical activity. Nicotine Tob Res 8:157–168

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Garrison MM, Christakis DA, Ebel BE, Wiebe SE, Rivara FP (2003) Smoking cessation interventions for adolescents: a systematic review. Am J Prev Med 25:363–367

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Fiore MC, Bailey WC, Cohen SJ et al. (2000) Treating tobacco use and dependence. Clinical Practice Guideline. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Public Health Service

    Google Scholar 

  19. McDonald PW, Collwell B, Backinger C, Maule C. (2003). Better practices for youth tobacco cessation: Recommendations from an evidence review panel. Am J Health Behav 27(suppl 2):S144–S158

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Barker DC, Giovino GA, Gable J, Tworek C, Orleans CT, Malarcher A (2006) Use of cessation methods among smokers aged 16–24 years—United States, 2003. MMWR 22:1351–1355

    Google Scholar 

  21. Backinger CL, McDonald P, Ossip-Klein DJ et al. (2003) Improving the future of youth smoking cessation. Am J Health Behav 27:170–184

    Google Scholar 

  22. McCormick LK, Crawford M, Anderson RH, Gittelsohn J, Kingsley B, Upson D (1999) Recruiting adolescents into qualitative tobacco research studies: experiences and lessons learned. J Sch Health 69:95–99

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Leatherdale ST, McDonald PW, Cameron R, Brown KS (2005) A multi-level analysis examining the relationship between social influences for smoking and smoking onset. Am J Health Behav 29:520–530

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Leatherdale ST, Sparks R, Kirsh VA (2006) Beliefs about tobacco industry (mal)practices and youth smoking behaviour: insight for future tobacco control campaigns (Canada). Cancer Causes Control 17:705–711

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Wong SL, Leatherdale ST, Manske S (2006) Reliability and validity of a school-based physical activity questionnaire. Med Sci Sport Exerc 38:1593–1600

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Sussman S, Sun P, Dent CW (2006) A meta-analysis of teen cigarette smoking cessation. Health Psychology 25:549–557

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. McMurray RG, Ring KB, Treuth MS et al (2004) Comparison of two approaches to structured physical activity surveys for adolescents. Med Sci Sport Exerc 36:2135–2143

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. SAS Institute Inc (2003) The SAS System for Windows. Cary, NC: SAS Institute Inc

    Google Scholar 

  29. Hammond D, McDonald PW, Fong GT, Borland R (2004) Do smokers know how to quit? Knowledge and perceived effectiveness of cessation assistance as predictors of cessation behaviour. Addiction 99:1042–1048

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Wiehe SE, Garrison MM, Christiakis DA, Ebel BE, Rivara FP (2005) A systematic review of school-based smoking prevention trials with long-term follow-up. J Adolesc Health 36:162–169

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Nelson MC, Gordon-Larsen P (2006) Physical activity and sedentary behaviour patterns are associated with selected adolescent health risk behaviors. Pediatrics 117:1281–1290

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Audrain-McGovern J, Rodriguez D, Moss HB (2003) Smoking progression and physical activity. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 12:1121–1129

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Sallis JF, Prochaska JJ, Taylor WC (2000) A review of correlates of physical activity of children and adolescents. Med Sci Sport Exerc 32:963–975

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Ussher M, Nunziata P, Cropley M, West R (2001) Effect of a short bout of exercise on tobacco withdrawal symptoms and desire to smoke. Psychopharmacology 158:66–72

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Riedel BW, Robinson LA, Klesges RC, McLain-Allen B (2002) What motivates adolescent smokers to make a quit attempt? Drug Alcohol Depend 68:167–174

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The data used in this analysis were drawn from the SHAPES-Ontario project, funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care/Ministry of Health Promotion and by Cancer Care Ontario (grant awarded to S. Leatherdale and S. Manske). The project was conducted by the Population Health Research Group at the University of Waterloo, with in-kind contributions from participating Public Health units. The concept for the SHAPES data collection and feedback system was developed by the National Cancer Institute of Canada/Canadian Cancer Society’s Centre for Behavioural Research and Program Evaluation. The authors would also like to thank Ms. Suzy Wong for comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Preventive Oncology, Cancer Care Ontario, 620 University Avenue, Toronto, ON, Canada, M5G 2L7

    Scott T. Leatherdale

  2. Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Scott T. Leatherdale

  3. Department of Health Studies and Gerontology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada

    Scott T. Leatherdale & Paul W. McDonald

  4. Population Health Research Group, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada

    Paul W. McDonald

Authors
  1. Scott T. Leatherdale
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Paul W. McDonald
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Scott T. Leatherdale.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Leatherdale, S.T., McDonald, P.W. Youth smokers’ beliefs about different cessation approaches: are we providing cessation interventions they never intend to use?. Cancer Causes Control 18, 783–791 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-007-9022-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-007-9022-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation