Predicting Use of a Health Professional for Cessation Among US Youth and Young Smokers

Approximately 9 million youth in the US smoke daily and annually over 50% of high school smokers try to quit. To examine use of a health professional in a quit attempt among young smokers, we used data from the 2003 National Youth Smoking Cessation Survey, a nationally representative, prospective telephone survey of current smokers aged 16-24 years. Logistic regression was used to identify predictors of use of a health professional (HP) for cessation at 12 month follow-up. Interactions were assessed with sex, age, and race. Among 1,063 young smokers, 60% felt highly confident in quitting (CQ), 61% had a family member's health impacted by smoking, and 15% used a HP for cessation between baseline and follow-up. Persons with a family illness due to smoking were more likely to use a HP than those without a family illness (OR=1.72, 95% CI=1.05, 2.77). Significant interactions were found between age and CQ, race and CQ, and age and addiction level. For example, among all racial/ethnic groups, those with high levels of CQ were less likely to use a HP than persons with low CQ. Non-Hispanic blacks with moderate CQ were more likely to use a HP than those with lower CQ; this relationship was not seen among other racial/ethnic groups. The use of a HP by young smokers in the US is low. Programs are needed to encourage young smokers to talk with a healthcare provider about cessation incorporating messages that address family history of a smoking-related illness, quit confidence, and addiction.