Smoking Cessation Attempts and Common Strategies Employed

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Epidemiology
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Clinical guidelines recommend evidence-based smoking cessation methods.
• Understanding smoking cessation behaviors in Germany is crucial for public health initiatives.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the rate of annual quit attempts among German smokers.
• To determine the utilization of evidence-based and other smoking cessation methods.
• To investigate associations between cessation method use, tobacco dependence, and socioeconomic factors.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 19 waves of the German Smoking Behavior Questionnaire (DEBRA) data (June 2016-July 2019).
• Inclusion of current smokers and recent ex-smokers, assessing quit attempts and methods used.
• Assessment of tobacco dependence using the Heaviness of Smoking Index.

Main Results:

• 19.9% of smokers attempted to quit annually; only 13.0% used evidence-based methods.
• Higher tobacco dependence correlated with increased use of evidence-based methods (OR=1.27).
• Pharmacotherapy use was higher among individuals with higher incomes (OR=1.44); e-cigarettes were the most common single method (10.2%).

Conclusions:

• Annual smoking cessation attempts in Germany are infrequent and rarely employ evidence-based strategies, potentially leading to higher failure rates.
• Socioeconomic disparities exist in accessing cessation support, with pharmacotherapy use linked to higher income.
• There is an urgent need for health insurance providers to cover cessation methods to ensure equitable access for all smokers.