PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Ali Abdolahinia
AU  - Makan Sadr
AU  - Vahid Moosavi
AU  - Mohammadreza Masjedi
TI  - Correlation between the age of smoking initiation and maintaining continuous abstinence for 5 years after quitting
DP  - 2012 Sep 01
TA  - European Respiratory Journal
PG  - P4042
VI  - 40
IP  - Suppl 56
4099  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/40/Suppl_56/P4042.short
4100  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/40/Suppl_56/P4042.full
SO  - Eur Respir J2012 Sep 01; 40
AB  - Background: Several factors are involved in increasing or decreasing the success rate of quitting smoking and continuous abstinence. This study aimed at evaluating the correlation between age of smoking initiation and continuous abstinence after quitting smoking.Materials: This study was conducted on 398 smokers who presented themselves to the smoking cessation clinic in 2005. Participants were then followed continuously for 5 years and their success or failure in continuous abstinence was recorded in 2010.Results: Three hundred and five participants (76.6%) including 172 males and 133 females were able to successfully quit smoking at the end of the course. Evaluation and follow up on these subjects at the end of 2010 revealed that 111 cases (27.8%) including 64 men and 47 women were still maintaining their continuous abstinence after 5 years. The mean age of initiation of smoking among participants was 21.01±5.28 yrs. This rate was 21.94±5.33 in cases 5 years after their smoking cessation and 20.71±5.35 yrs in unsuccessful quitters. Analysis showed a significant correlation between age of smoking initiation and daily cigarette consumption rate (P&amp;lt;0.001). By one year increase in age of smoking onset chance of daily cigarette consumption rate less than 30 cigarettes decreased by 6% (OR=0.94).Conclusion: It seems that age of smoking initiation can to a great extent predict the success or failure of smoker in quitting and holding on to their abstinence in the future. The sooner the person starts smoking, the lower the chance of successful quitting and abstinence.