Interest in smoking reduction and smoking cessation among HIV-positive cigarette smokers

Cigarette smoking is prevalent among HIV-positive populations, and is associated with negative health sequelae. Most HIV-positive smokers report receiving medical advice to quit, and many are interested in quitting. Prior research has examined characteristics associated with an interest in quitting, with emphasis on individual-level characteristics. Research is needed to examine social-level characteristics, and distinguish between an interest in cessation and interest in smoking reduction. Data came from a study designed to examine social environmental influences on current and former drug users' HIV medication and health outcomes. This analysis is comprised of 267 HIV-positive current smokers. Fisher's exact tests were used to describe the sample, and multinomial logistic regression analyses were used to explore associations between covariates and outcomes. Older age was associated with an interest in quitting smoking (aRRR=4.33, 95% CI=1.00-18.75). Additionally, individuals interested in quitting were more likely than those not interested in altering smoking behavior to have made prior quit attempts (aRRR=3.92, 95% CI=1.55-9.90). Family encouragement to smoke was negatively associated with interest in cutting down (aRRR=0.08, 95% CI=0.01-0.82) and interest in quitting (aRRR=0.24, 95% CI=0.07-0.81). Results corroborate prior findings that a majority of HIV-positive smokers are interested in smoking cessation. Results further our knowledge by suggesting that individual- as well as social-level characteristics are associated with an interest in quitting smoking among HIV-positive smokers. Different characteristics appear to be associated with interest in quitting and interest in smoking reduction. Findings have implications for developing targeted smoking cessation interventions for HIV-positive smokers.