Abstract

Aim: This study aimed at evaluating the effect of personal factors in the occurrence of smoking initiation and quitting in Lebanon.

Methods: a retrospective cohort of 621 Lebanese adults recruited from community pharmacies in Mount Lebanon and Beirut districts, to detect the events: ever smoker and former smoker.

Results: Out of the 621 participants 55.6% were ever smokers and 6.4% former smokers. The association between survival curves of males (RR=0.340, p<0.001), having smoker family member (RR=2.087, p<0.001), exposed to tobacco smoke (RR=1.201, p=0.019), got higher education (RR=0.667, p<0.001), household crowding index (RR=1.396, p=0.025) were highly significant for smoking initiation while for quitting smoking, cancer (RR=2.844, p-0.028), age of smoking initiation (RR=1.089, p<0.001) and cardiovascular diseases (RR=0.193, p<0.001) were significantly associated.

Conclusion: Smoking initiation is highly associated with personal factors like gender, family influence and exposure to second-hand smoke, socioeconomic and education levels whereas quitting was highly associated with the health status.

Keywords: Smoking initiation; Quitting smoking; Health risks; Environmental influence; Socioeconomic level; Ever smoker; Former smoker