The Association of Peer Smoking Behavior and Social Support with Quit Success in Employees Who Participated in a Smoking Cessation Intervention at the Workplace

Floor A. van den Brand, Puck Nagtzaam, Gera E. Nagelhout, Bjorn Winkens and Constant P. van Schayck
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Floor A. van den Brand: Department of Family Medicine, Maastricht University (CAPHRI), 6229 HA Maastricht, The Netherlands
Puck Nagtzaam: Department of Family Medicine, Maastricht University (CAPHRI), 6229 HA Maastricht, The Netherlands
Gera E. Nagelhout: Department of Family Medicine, Maastricht University (CAPHRI), 6229 HA Maastricht, The Netherlands
Bjorn Winkens: Department of Methodology and Statistics, Maastricht University (CAPHRI), 6229 HA Maastricht, The Netherlands
Constant P. van Schayck: Department of Family Medicine, Maastricht University (CAPHRI), 6229 HA Maastricht, The Netherlands

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 16, 1-12

Abstract: The current study investigated whether quit success among employees who participated in a smoking cessation intervention at the workplace was associated with social support from, and the smoking behavior of, people in their environment. Tobacco-smoking employees ( n = 604) from 61 companies participated in a workplace group smoking cessation program. Participants completed questionnaires assessing social support from, and the smoking behavior of, people in their social environment. They were also tested for biochemically validated continuous abstinence directly after finishing the training and after 12 months. The data were analyzed using mixed-effects logistic regression analyses. Social support from colleagues was positively associated with 12-month quit success (odds ratio (OR) = 1.85, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.14–3.00, p = 0.013). Support from a partner was positively associated with short-term quit success (OR = 2.01, 95% CI = 1.23–3.30, p = 0.006). Having a higher proportion of smokers in the social environment was negatively associated with long-term abstinence (OR = 0.81, 95% CI = 0.71–0.92, p = 0.002). Compared to having a non-smoking partner, long-term quit success was negatively associated with having no partner (OR = 0.48, 95% CI = 0.26–0.88, p < 0.019), with having a partner who smokes (OR = 0.40, 95% CI = 0.24–0.66, p < 0.001), and with having a partner who used to smoke (OR = 0.47, 95% CI = 0.26–0.86, p = 0.014). In conclusion, people in a smoker’s social environment, particularly colleagues, were strongly associated with quit success. The workplace may, therefore, be a favorable setting for smoking cessation interventions.

Keywords: smoking cessation; workplace; employees; financial incentives; social support; peer support; social environment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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