Table 2. Tobacco use, quit attempts and perceptions of current exclusive cigarette smokers, South African Social Attitudes Survey, 2007.
| Characteristic | Overall * n = 678Estimate (95% CI) | Males n = 451Estimate (95% CI) | Females n = 227Estimate (95% CI) |
| Smoking characteristics among all current exclusive cigarette smokers (n = 678) | |||
| Mean number of cigarettes smoked per day, cigarette sticks | 9.5 (8.6–10.4) | 9.1 (8.1–10.2) | 10.6 (8.8–12.3) |
| Mean duration of smoking, years | 13.4 (12.1–14.8) | 13.0 (11.5–14.5) | 14.9 (11.9–17.9) |
| Reasons for smoking, % | |||
| For enjoyment or relaxation | 74.0 (69.4–78.6) | 73.1 (67.6–78.5) | 77.2 (68.7–85.7) |
| For concentration or to cope with daily life | 29.2 (24.2–34.2) | 29.4 (23.7–35.0) | 28.5 (18.7–38.2) |
| Difficulty quitting or lack of willpower to try | 32.4 (26.8–38.0) | 31.5 (24.8–38.2) | 35.3 (25.9–44.6) |
| Social influences | 20.0 (15.6–24.4) | 18.9 (14.0–23.7) | 24.0 (16.0–32.1) |
| Past Quit attempts among current exclusive cigarette smokers that had ever made a quit attempt (n = 402) | |||
| % of current smokers that had ever made a quit attempt | 59.4 (53.6–65.3) | 59.6 (52.6–66.6) | 59.0 (48.9–69.0) |
| Number of past quit attempts, % | |||
| 1 | 41.8 (34.0–49.6) | 45.1 (35.9–54.4) | 31.0 (20.4–41.4) |
| 2 | 20.6 (15.5–25.7) | 20.2 (14.1–26.2) | 22.0 (12.9–31.0) |
| 3+ | 37.6 (30.6–44.6) | 34.7 (26.5–42.9) | 47.1 (36.3–57.8) |
| Method used in past quit attempts, % | |||
| Cold turkey (i.e., just stopped smoking one day) | 22.5 (16.9–28.1) | 20.9 (14.3–27.5) | 27.4 (16.8–38.0) |
| Cutting down | 59.7 (52.7–66.7) | 62.0 (53.5–70.5) | 52.7 (42.1–63.3) |
| Switching to light cigarettes or smokeless tobacco | 9.4 (4.7–14.0) | 8.7 (3.0–14.5) | 11.3 (4.0–18.6) |
| Counseling or pharmacotherapy † | 8.4 (4.4–12.4) | 8.3 (3.6–13.1) | 8.6 (1.1–16.0) |
| Reasons for past quit attempts, % | |||
| Cost of smoking | 44.3 (36.4–52.2) | 41.3 (32.0–50.5) | 54.5 (41.0–68.3) |
| Health concerns | 70.0 (63.2–76.8) | 65.7 (57.6–73.9) | 84.6 (77.2–92.0) |
| Motivation from family and friends | 12.8 (7.8–17.7) | 13.8 (7.7–19.9) | 9.2 (3.9–14.4) |
| Changing social environment towards smoking | 13.9 (8.1–19.7) | 13.7 (6.9–20.5) | 14.6 (3.6–25.6) |
| Advice from a healthcare professional | 5.5 (2.5–8.4) | 4.8 (1.4–8.2) | 7.9 (2.1–13.7) |
| Reaction to cigarette health warning label | 5.0 (2.0–8.0) | 5.5 (1.8–9.3) | 3.1 (0.1–6.5) |
| Quit intentions among all current exclusive cigarette smokers (n = 678) | |||
| % with quit intentions | 52.8 (46.5–59.1) | 50.9 (43.6–58.3) | 59.3 (47.8–70.9) |
| % of those intending to quit who felt confident of at least a fair chance at success if they tried quitting in the next 6 months § | 62.0 (54.9–69.1) | 62.5 (51.7–73.3) | 62.0 (52.3–71.7) |
| Perceptions about relative harm of tobacco products among all current exclusive cigarette smokers (n = 678) | |||
| Perception of the relative harm of snuff compared to cigarettes, % | |||
| Using snuff is safer than smoking | 5.7 (3.4–8.0) | 5.6 (2.9–8.3) | 6.2 (2.0–10.4) |
| Using snuff is as equally harmful as smoking | 49.7 (44.1–55.2) | 51.7 (45.0–58.4) | 42.8 (33.9–51.7) |
| Using snuff is more harmful than smoking | 12.9 (9.5–16.2) | 12.1 (8.3–15.9) | 15.5 (8.2–22.8) |
| Did not know | 31.8 (26.4–37.1) | 30.7 (24.3–37.0) | 35.5 (26.8–44.3) |
Note: All samples (n) were unweighted while all percentages (%) were weighted to account for the complex survey design. CI = Confidence interval.
*Some totals may add up to over 100% because multiple responses were allowed.
†
Counseling included individual and group counseling sessions, including those by a faith/religious or traditional healer. Pharmacotherapy included use of nicotine replacement therapy (e.g. patch, gum) as well as prescription medication (e.g. Zyban).
§
Respondents who thought they were “fairly likely” or “very likely” at being successful at quitting if they attempted within the next 6 months.