Measuring quit success by socioeconomic status in Alaska: Implications for program planning

Background: The disparity in tobacco prevalence between people of lower and higher socioeconomic status (SES) has been well-documented. Quit ratios (all former smokers as a percentage of all ever smokers) are also much lower (46% vs. 65%), indicating lower quit success for this group. However, analyses of recent cessation behavior in Alaska yield different results. Methods: Using 2006-2009 Alaska Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data, we assessed recent cessation patterns among low SES smokers by restricting quit ratios to those who had smoked within the past year or within the past five years. The SES marker was created using education, household income and household size, and restricted to non-Native Alaskan adults aged 25 to 64 years. Results: When we examined one-year and five-year quit ratios, we found they did not vary significantly by SES. Among past year smokers, we found that the quit ratios were equivalent (15% for low SES vs. 14% for higher SES) and that quit attempts for the same time period were similar (63% vs. 65%). Five-year quit ratios also did not significantly vary for the two groups (27% vs. 32%). Conclusions: Assessing quit ratios restricted to more recent time frames provided evidence that quitting among low SES non-Native Alaskans may be accelerating. Comprehensive tobacco programs should continue to evaluate these more sensitive indicators as they focus on tobacco control work for this priority population.