Factors influencing the initiation, continuation and cessation of smoking.

ABSTRACT

Smoking is complexely related to various aspects of life style. A survey conducted among 573 teachers of Lucknow University to identify the various factors influencing the smoking habit revealed that friends played a significant role in initiation of smoking and its continuation. Significantly higher proportion of current smokers used only filter cigarettes. Majority of ex-smokers were successfully able to stop smoking in the first attempt, the most common reason for them to stop being health related. Compared to this, almost half of the current smokers stated that they were never advised to stop smoking by anyone and they had never made an attempt to quit. The results suggest that creating an awareness among smokers about the health hazards may encourage them to stop smoking.