In the Health Promotion Agency’s 2012 Health and Lifestyles Survey, we asked current smokers whether they thought they would still be smoking at three future time periods (three months, five years, and by 2025). We then used this information as an indicator of their intention to quit.
Methodology
The 2012 HLS included three questions that assessed the quit intentions of respondents who currently smoke (at least monthly). Responses to these questions were compared by a range of socio-demographic and smoking-related variables: ethnicity, neighbourhood deprivation status, age, gender, educational background, frequency of smoking, quit attempts in the past year, and awareness of the Government’s smokefree goal.
A comparison was also undertaken to identify the characteristics of respondents who believed they would still be smoking at all three future time periods, compared with those who believed they would be smokefree during at least one of the three time periods.
Statistically significant differences (p < .05) are reported.