Kicking Nicotine May Be Linked to Income
For those who want to quit smoking, the challenge of giving up cigarettes is often overwhelming. Many identify smoking with social connection; others with stress relief. A recent study says that there may be another factor determining whether smokers can quit.
Researchers at The City College of New York say that quitting smoking may be twice as hard if you are poor. Led by Christine Sheffer, associate medical professor at the Sophie David School of Biomedical Education at CCNY, the study investigated the outcomes of smokers who enrolled in a statewide Arkansas program designed to reduce smoking.
The researchers discovered that the smoking cessation rate was relatively stable across income levels following completion of a treatment program centered on cognitive behavioral therapy. Some of the participants also used a nicotine patch.
For some the results did not last. As time elapsed after treatment, those with a lower level of financial and social resources had a difficult time maintaining a nicotine-free life. Professor Sheffer explained that as income decreases, difficulty maintaining smoking cessation increases.
Sheffer discovered that income made a significant difference in smoking cessation success. Those at the lowest end of the income scale were at a 55 percent increased risk to relapse. Six months after they had quit smoking, they were two and a half times more likely to relapse than those with higher income levels.
The researchers found that in households of incomes at $15,000 or below, there was three times the level of smoking than that found in homes with an income of over $50,000.
Sheffer suggests that there may be some very concrete reasons that those with a lower income have a harder time avoiding relapse. Because smoking is often used as a stress relief, those who struggle financially may be using nicotine as a way to eliminate stress.
Sheffer explains that nicotine addiction is just one example of the many ways that those at lower income levels struggle significantly more than those with more income. Stress may come in the way of discrimination and employment struggles, in addition to financial problems. Some of the smokers in the study may have begun smoking in their teen years and lack the tools to handle stress in other ways.
Sheffer also explains that those in the lower income bracket are not in jobs protected by laws for smoke-free environments, and may be arriving to work every day alongside other smokers. In addition, treatment programs are generally geared to the middle-class population and are not organized to deal with facing these types of temptations after leaving the treatment program.
Sheffer suggests that those at a lower income level may benefit from a follow-up treatment that provides additional help for those at a higher risk for relapse.
The findings will be published in the March edition of the American Journal of Public Health.
