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Factors leading up to attending stop-smoking clinics in Malaysia
Wee Lei Hum, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine,
University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Abstract
Two hundred smokers attending five stop-smoking clinics in Malaysia completed a questionnaire about the factors that led to them seeking help and their feelings about stopping smoking.
The aim was to provide a better understanding of the processes involved. Almost all respondents (94%) reported health concerns as a reason for trying to stop. Most respondents decided to stop smoking and then looked for ways of doing it (66%) while 34% said that hearing about the clinic was what made them decide to stop.
Most smokers quit abruptly but gradual quitting was also common (39%). A significant minority of respondents had not been thinking about stopping before they heard about the clinic (31%). Almost half of the respondents did not mind being a smoker (46%) apart from the health risks. The most common event that triggered this quit attempt was experience of a health problem linked with smoking (30%) followed by ‘suddenly realising how bad smoking is’ (27%). A majority of respondents cut down between deciding to attend the clinic and the first appointment (54%).
A large majority were happy about the idea of becoming a non-smoker (71%). This study provides one of the most complete pictures yet on the psychological factors leading up to making a quit attempt in a smokers clinics. The smokers are being followed up to assess how these relate to the experience of stopping and likelihood of success.
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About the presenter
Ms Wee Lei Hum is a Principal Assistant Director (Health Education) with the Ministry of Health Malaysia where she was involved in planning, implementing and evaluating of national health promotion policies and programs. She has a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication and Management from the University of Science Malaysia and Master of Health Communication from the Curtin University of Technology, Australia.
Currently Ms Wee is a PhD candidate on a Malaysian Government Scholarship in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya. Her research study is on smoking cessation in collaboration with University College London.
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