Factors Associated with the 30-Day and 1-Year Smoking Abstinence of Women in Korea: The Effect of Nicotine Dependency, Self-Efficacy, and Mental Illness

Despite the success of tobacco control efforts in reducing smoking rates during the past 50 years, data on the factors contributing to quitting success are still lacking. Smoking-related mortality among women has also not declined. Therefore, this study aimed to characterize sociodemographic features, smoking-related behaviors, mental illness, and smoking cessation in woman smokers in Korea who were registered in the Quitline program. Furthermore, factors associated with 30-day and 1-year successful smoking cessation after enrollment in the Quitline program were investigated. A total of 3360 adult woman Quitline users from 2007 to 2018 were included in the final analysis, with information on their age, education level, marital status, body mass index, frequency of alcohol consumption per month, nicotine dependency, self-efficacy for smoking cessation, presence of a smoking cessation supporter, and mental health history collected upon registration with the Quitline program in Korea. Their cessation outcome was investigated with a 1-year follow-up until the end of 2019. A multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify factors associated with smoking cessation at the 30-day and 1-year follow-ups. The results of the multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that lower nicotine dependency, higher self-efficacy, and the presence of a smoking cessation supporter improved the odds of smoking cessation at the 30-day and 1-year follow-ups. In contrast, users with a mental health condition were less likely to achieve smoking cessation. Incorporating methods to increase self-efficacy in women who decide to quit smoking will contribute to facilitating more attempts to quit and achieving greater success in smoking cessation among woman smokers.