Research Article - Biomedical Research (2018) Volume 29, Issue 12

Quitting smoking: experiences from the Southwestern region, Saudi Arabia

Background: Tobacco a huge global public health problem with 1.3 billion smokers worldwide contributed to 8.8% of all deaths and 4.1% of DALYs. Current prevalence of tobacco in Saudi is 12.1% considering the extent of tobacco smoking as a health issue.

Objective: This study aims to find out the smoking patterns, quitting trials and determinants of smoking cessation among smokers in Aseer region.

Methods: This study was conducted in six main antismoking clinics located in Abha city, Aseer region using a purposive sampling technique, this medical-record based, retrospective cohort study included data of all smokers (695) who attended the centers for the sake of quitting smoking.

Results: A small percentage (12.8%) had successfully quit smoking i.e. they were smoking free for more than one year. A large proportion (78.3%) reported a previous attempt to quit smoking. Among those who tried to quit smoking, the number of trials ranged from to 1 to 6 times with an average of 2.34 ± 1.46 times and a median of 2 times. The average age of those trying to quit smoking (30.69+10.18 years) was significantly (t=2.127, P=0.034) lower than the corresponding figures of those who did not (32.69 ± 10.31 y).

Conclusion: A good proportion of the respondents have a desire to quit and attempts quitting. The tobacco control program in Saudi Arabia has made great efforts with setting up of smoking cessation clinics that are manned with family physicians.

Author(s): Awad S. Alsamghan

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