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Gender Differences in Outcome of an Attempt to Stop Smoking Among Smokers Attending a Smoking Cessation Clinic in Taiwan: 3-Year Follow-Up Study

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Evaluation & the Health Professions

Published online on

Abstract

Studies that have examined gender differences in smoking cessation have produced mixed results. The purpose of the study was to examine whether there are gender differences in long-term smoking abstinence rates in smokers treated with nicotine patches at a smoking cessation clinic in Taiwan, where 39% of men and 5% of women smoke. This study included 1,065 smokers, comprising of 940 men and 125 women. Smokers were invited to attend the clinic every 1–2 weeks for a maximum of eight visits over 90 days, where they received prescriptions for nicotine patches, counseling, and educational materials. Participants were contacted by telephone at 1 and 3 years after the first visit and were asked whether they had smoked at all over the past 7 days. The results showed that women were significantly less likely than men to be abstinent at 1 year (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 0.64; 95% CI [confidence interval] = [0.41, 0.99]; p = .044) and 3 years (aOR = 0.44; 95% CI = [0.27, 0.74]; p = .02). More effective ways are needed to help female smokers quit in societies where smoking in women is rare and may be associated with social stigma.