Smoking behavior and perception of quitting smoking among elderly community residents in a rural area of Taiwan

Purpose: To explore smoking behavior among elderly community residents. Method: Data were collected through a census survey among the elderly aged 65 and over from the Shihu Township, a rural area in northern Taiwan. The face-to-face interviews were employed through home visits by using a structured questionnaire. Major items of the questionnaire included subjects' demographic characteristics, smoking behavior and perception of quitting smoking. A total of 1,347 subjects were recruited in this survey. The response rate was 96%. Results: Roughly 235 (17.4%) of the subjects were current smokers. Of the 235 smoking subjects, 20.1% reported their willingness of quitting smoking and 79.9% of them do not want to quit. The major reasons for those who desire not to quit smoking included “no need to quit due to aging status”, “feeling bored or unhappy if quit”, “feeling tired if quit”, “need for social activities”, “addiction”, and “peer pressure”. It is noted that those smoking subjects who intended to quit smoking, most preferred to receive professional assistance. The prevalence of smoking among males (35.9%) was significantly higher than that in female (0.8%). About 18.5% of male subjects and 0.1% of female subjects had succeeded in abstinence from smoking. Result of multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that age and gender were related to smoking behavior. Conclusion: Male subjects who aged 65 to 74 or aged 75 to 84 have higher risk of smoking than those aged 85 or above. Anti-smoking education in the future should emphasize gender and age-specific strategies among the elderly.