title: Barriers to successful cessation among young late-onset smokers.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To understand the barriers to cessation among young late-onset smokers (young adults who started smoking daily after turning 18). Such information is crucial to the development of interventions aimed at reducing the high smoking prevalence among young adults.
  
  
  METHODS
  The New Zealand Smoking Monitor is a fortnightly telephone survey of current smokers and recent quitters. This study focused on responses from a group of late-onset smokers aged 18 to 28 years (N = 111), who were temporarily (for 11 fortnights) added to the monitor.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Most respondents had low nicotine dependence and were actively trying to quit (81% had made at least one attempt that lasted 24 hours or longer in the last year). One-half had high self-efficacy to quit and three-quarters did not intend to use cessation aids. Smoking was tightly linked to drinking alcohol and conferred social benefits (eg, 51% agreed "smoking helped me to socialise").
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The tendency not to use cessation aids, strong links between smoking and drinking, and the social benefits of smoking may act as barriers to successful cessation among young late-onset smokers. Policies and interventions aimed at breaking associations between smoking, drinking and socialising (eg, smokefree bars) could be effective for this group.
authors.affiliation: Research and Evaluation Unit, Health Promotion Agency, PO Box 2142 Wellington 6140. h.guiney@hpa.org.nz.
authors.forename: Hayley
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Guiney
authors.forename: Judy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Darren
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Walton
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017668:Age of Onset; D066300:Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D033182:Intention; D020407:Internet; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D009520:New Zealand / Q000453:epidemiology; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012944:Social Support; D061485:Tobacco Use Cessation Devices; D014029:Tobacco Use Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D055815:Young Adult