Examining tobacco use and health in Glace Bay and Kings County, Nova Scotia

Marcie D. Smith & Dr. Peter MacIntyreUniversity College of Cape Breton

National/Regional Comparisons:19

.425

.821

.218

.516

.925

.625

.130

.128

.5

23.5

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

% who smoke daily by region

Canadian male

Canadian female

Nova Scotian male

Nova Scotian female

Kings County male

Kings County female

Cape Breton male

Cape Breton female

Glace Bay male

Glace Bay female

•Glace Bay’s % of daily smoking is higher than the national average, while Kings County is below.

Smoking habit in relation to sex

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

daily occasion not at all

Glace Bay males

Glace Bay females

Kings males

Kings females

The employment status of those smoking daily

0

10

20

30

40

50

Glace Bay

Kings

At the present time do you smoke?

29.3

17.74.

3 66.4

77.74.6

0 20 40 60 80 100 120

GlaceBay

Kings

daily

occasional

non

* Numbers represent %

Have you ever smoked cigarettes at all?

49.8 50.2

45.4 54.6

0 20 40 60 80 100

KINGS

GLACE BAY

yes

no

Self-reported health of smokers and non-smokers:

05

10152025303540

Gla

ce B

ay d

aily

sm

oker

sK

ings

dai

ly s

mok

ers

Gla

ce B

ay n

on-s

mok

ers

Kin

gs n

on-s

mok

ers

excellent

very good

good

fair

poor

Nicotine dependency: How soon after you first wake up do you smoke your 1st cigarette?

35.220.5

40.946.2

11.8 21.6

12.1 11.7

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

GLACE BAY KINGS

60+ minutes

31-60 minutes

6-30 minutes

within 5 min

Education level and daily smoking: Kings County

9

46.528.4

8.7

7.4

primary - 8

grade 9-12

community college

university

other

Education level and daily smoking: Glace Bay

9.6

54.7

22

6

7.7

primary - 8

grade 9-12

community college

university

other

Smoking patterns by age group in Glace Bay and Kings County:

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

15

-24

GB

15

-24

Kin

gs

25

-34

GB

25

-34

Kin

gs

35

-44

GB

35

-44

Kin

gs

45

-54

GB

45

-54

Kin

gs

55

-64

GB

55

-64

Kin

gs

65

+ G

B

65

+ K

ing

s

non

occasional

daily

Does anyone in your household smoke regularly?

31.2 68.8

49.1 50.9

0 20 40 60 80 100

KINGS

GLACE BAY

yes

no

Does anyone in your household smoke inside of the home?

20.7 79.3

42.1 57.9

0 20 40 60 80 100

KINGS

GLACE BAY

yes

no

Percentage of those who began smoking before a certain age:

15.7

41.7

66

79.8

12.134.2

60.2

78

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

GLACE BAY KINGS

before age 19

before age 17

before age 15

before age 13

Chronic Conditions: Quit Rates

0102030405060

do you currentlysmoke?

have you eversmoked?

* The difference between the purple and blue bars are the people who quit smoking

Chronic Conditions: Quit Rates

010203040506070

do you currentlysmoke?

Have you eversmoked?

Chronic Conditions: Quit Rates

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

hig

h b

loo

d p

ress

ure

GB

Hig

h b

loo

d K

ings

mig

rain

e G

B

mig

rain

e K

ing

s

do you currentlysmoke?

have you eversmoked?

* It is interesting to note only a 0.2% quit rate in migraine suffers in Glace Bay

Chronic Conditions: Quit Rates

01020304050607080

do you currentlysmoke?

have you eversmoked?

Chronic Conditions: Quit Rates

01020304050607080

do you currentlysmoke?

have you eversmoked?

Chronic Conditions: Quit Rates

01020304050607080

do you currentlysmoke?

have you eversmoked?

Chronic Conditions: Quit Rates

010203040506070

do you currentlysmoke?

have you eversmoked?

Chronic Conditions: Quit Rates

Chronic Conditions: Quit Rates

010203040506070

do you currentlysmoke?

have you eversmoked?

Chronic Conditions: Quit Rates

0

20

40

60

80

100

do you currentlysmoke?

have you eversmoked?

Conclusions

Schnoll et al (2002) indicated 30-40% smokers continue to smoke after diagnoses of a serious condition. Persons are less likely to quit if unaware of extreme dangers of smoking, and uneducated about the seriousness of their disease. Other medical variables may play a role such as the stage of the disease and how far into treatment the individual is.

Factors that influence readiness to quit after diagnoses: – if a family member smokes at home the person will be less likely to quit – Level of nicotine dependence– Awareness of the benefits of quitting– Level of emotional distress – Fatalistic outlook, “why bother…”– Cost of cigarettes in relation to other health costs

Further research:

A lot of research has been done to examine the variables that influence healthy people (no chronic conditions) to quit smoking. However, there is very little research done on why people with chronic diseases quit or do not quit smoking. In the future more research in this area would be beneficial especially in developing smoking cessation programs for people with chronic disease.

Kings County has higher quit rates when living with chronic illness than those in Glace Bay. This lifestyle difference needs further research, with benefits including using Kings County as a model for a smoking reduction program in Glace Bay.