title: Smoking status of Australian general practice patients and their attempts to quit.
abstract: This paper seeks to report on smoking rates, quit attempt methods and success rates among adult patients attending Australian general practice. A cluster cross-sectional survey was used to survey adult patients (18+), who attended Australian GPs in during 2002 and 2003. Over a quarter of patients (27.3%; 95% CI: 26.0-28.7) were former smokers and one in five (21.5%; 95% CI: 20.1-22.9) were current smokers. Ninety-two percent of former and 80% of current smokers used only one method in their last quit attempt with cold turkey the most common method used by both former (88%) and current (62%) smokers. Overall, success rates varied from 77% for cold turkey to 23% for bupropion. Success rates were re-analysed to consider quit attempts post-bupropion listing, with success rate for cold turkey reduced to 40% while bupropion remained reasonably constant at 21%. By tailoring smoking cessation interventions to a smokers' preparedness to quit, scope exists to increase the pool of smokers offered strategies that are more effective in achieving abstinence and avoiding relapse rather than relying on less effective self-quitting behaviours such as cold turkey.
authors.affiliation: School of Population Health, School of Economics, University of Queensland, Public Health Building, Herston Road, Herston QLD 4006, Australia. c.doran@sph.uq.edu.au
authors.forename: Christopher M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Doran
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Valenti
authors.forename: Maxine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Robinson
authors.forename: Helena
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Britt
authors.forename: Richard P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Mattick
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D016642:Bupropion / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005194:Family Practice / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009538:Nicotine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D014029:Tobacco Use Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D016642:Bupropion; D009538:Nicotine