Table 2.
Baseline demographics, offending history and smoking characteristics by treatment or control group
| Treatment | Control | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristics | % (n = 206) | % (n = 219) | % (n = 425) |
| Demographic characteristics | |||
| Mean age (years) (+SD; range) | 32.8 (10.1; 18–65) | 34.1 (10.3; 19–63) | 33.5 (10.2; 18–65) |
| Aboriginal origin | 22.3 | 8.2 | 15.1** |
| Born in Australia | 73.2 | 76.4 | 74.9 |
| Left school with no qualification | 43.2 | 43.8 | 43.5 |
| Mean age left school (+SD; range) | 15.0 (2.3; 0–26) | 15.2 (1.7; 11–22) | 15.1 (2.0; 0–26) |
| Institutionalized as a child (juvenile detention and/or placed in care) | 39.3 | 36.5 | 37.9 |
| Homeless prior to prison | 9.2 | 5.0 | 7.1 |
| Employed while in prison | 74.3 | 69.9 | 72.0 |
| Offending history | |||
| Previously incarcerated | 64.1 | 63.5 | 63.8 |
| Median number adult prison terms (+SD; range) | 3.4 (3.1; 1–15) | 3.2 (2.7; 1–20) | 3.3 (2.9; 1–20) |
| Incarcerated 5+ years at baseline | 17.0 | 19.2 | 18.1 |
| Median years in prison at baseline (+SD; range) | 1.9 (4.1; 0–23) | 1.8 (4.3; 0–27) | 1.9 (4.2; 0–27) |
| Sentence length 5+ years | 34.5 | 33.8 | 34.1 |
| Median sentence length in years (+SD; range) | 3.6 (11.8; 0–112) | 3.5 (16.1; 0–116) | 3.6 (14.2; 0–116) |
| Smoking behaviours and history | |||
| Mean age first smoked tobacco (+SD; range) | 13.6 (4.2; 5–37) | 13.8 (4.3; 6–39) | 13.7 (4.3; 5–39) |
| Mean age first smoked tobacco daily (+SD; range) | 15.4 (4.0; 5–37) | 15.5 (4.3; 7–39) | 15.5 (4.2; 5–39) |
| Mean years smoked tobacco (+SD; range) | 19.2 (10.1; 0–52) | 20.3 (10.4; 1–49) | 19.8 (10.2; 1–52) |
| Mean carbon monoxide reading (+SD; range) | 13.9 (7.2; 2–43) | 14.6 (8.3; 1–59) | 14.3 (7.8; 1–59) |
| Mean cigarettes smoked per day (+SD; range) | 23.6 (10.3; 5–75) | 22.7 (9.3; 3–75) | 23.2 (9.8; 3–75) |
| Smoke 20+ cigarettes per day | 69.4 | 70.8 | 70.1 |
| High tobacco dependence (Fagerström 6+) | 81.1 | 84.5 | 82.8 |
| Share a cell with a smoker | 37.6 | 29.7 | 33.5 |
| Smoke White Ox (loose tobacco) | 98.1 | 96.4 | 97.2 |
| Smoking cessation history | |||
| Mean times tried to quit smoking (+SD; range) | 2.9 (9.2; 0–128) | 2.3 (3.9; 0–50) | 2.6 (7.9; 0–128) |
| Any type of quitting behaviour in past year | 75.7 | 71.2 | 73.4 |
| Very determined to cut down smoking | 83.5 | 83.6 | 83.5 |
| Very determined to quit smoking | 87.9 | 86.8 | 87.3 |
**
P < 0.01. SD: standard deviation.