Smoking Cessation and Financial Stress

Mohammad Siahpush, Professor; Matt Spittal, Dr; Gopal K. Singh, Dr

Journal of Public Health. 2007;29(4):338-342.

Results

Of the 1747 smokers in Wave 1, 92.2% remained smokers during all three waves. Table 1 shows sample characteristics along with the percentage that have quit and the percentage in financial stress for each socio-demographic group. P-values for the bivariate association of covariates and the outcome are the same as the p-values associated with crude parameter estimates in Table 3 . Approximately 63% of smokers and 49% of quitters experienced financial problems in Wave 3. Being a male, being married and having a higher level of education, occupation and family income were associated with a lower probability of financial stress. A notably high percent of respondents from high-income households reported financial stress. This is because 36% of them were unable to raise, within a week, AU$2000 for an emergency. The distribution of items used to create the financial stress index is presented in Table 2 .

Table 3 provides crude and adjusted odds ratios for the association of covariates with the probability of experiencing financial stress. After controlling for all covariates, there was evidence that higher age, being a male, being married and higher socio-economic status were associated with financial stress. There was also evidence that smoking cessation was related to a lower probability of financial stress. The odds of experiencing financial stress in Wave 3 were 42% (95% CI: 6-74%; P = 0.028) smaller for quitters than for continued smokers.

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Journal of Public Health. 2007;29(4):338-342. © 2007 Oxford University Press
Copyright 2007 Faculty of Public Health of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of the United Kingdom. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.

The majority of this research was conducted while the first author was affiliated with the Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer, the Cancer Council Victoria, Australia. The research findings are the product of the researchers and the views expressed should not be attributed to FaCS or the Melbourne Institute.

Cite this: Smoking Cessation and Financial Stress - Medscape - Dec 01, 2007.

Characteristics of Survey Respondents ( n = 1747)
	% in sample	% quit	% financial stress
Smoking status
Smoker	92.2	-	62.6
Quitter	7.8	-	49.2
Age
18-24	10.3	6.7	75.4
25-39	40.8	8.5	66.8
40-54	33.3	8.1	57.5
≥55	15.7	9.6	41.6
Gender
Female	48.6	9.5	66.1
Male	51.4	7.3	55.7
Marital status
Married/de facto	61.8	9.7	52.8
Separated/divorced/widowed	17.0	5.5	71.4
Single	21.2	6.8	72.6
Education
High school or less	57.9	8.6	64.1
Diploma or certificate	30.8	6.9	59.7
University degree	11.3	10.8	44.9
Household income (AU$)
Less than 25 000	21.0	6.9	72.9
25 000-49 999	29.4	5.0	70.7
50 000-74 999	23.4	10.0	62.5
≥75 000	26.2	11.2	41.1
Occupation
Unemployed/not in labour force	34.5	9.0	71.0
Blue-collar	24.8	6.9	58.5
White-collar	19.6	9.0	60.2
Professional	21.1	8.3	45.5

Distribution of the Financial Stress Items
Item	Percent
Could not pay electricity, gas or telephone bills on time	26.3
Could not pay mortgage/rent on time	13.0
Pawned or sold something	10.5
Went without meals	7.8
Was unable to heat home	4.7
Asked for financial help from friends or family	23.5
Asked for help from welfare/community organisations	7.2
Could not raise AU$2000 within a week for an emergency	53.8

Odds Ratios (OR) and 95% CI for the Effects of Covariates on the Odds of Experiencing Financial Stress ( n = 1530)
	Crude OR	P-value	Adjusted OR	P-value
Smoking status
Smoker	1.00	0.007	1.00	0.028
Quitter	0.58		0.58 (0.36-0.94)
Age
18-24	1.00	<0.001	1.00	<0.001
25-39	0.66 (0.44-0.99)		0.86 (0.50-1.50)
40-54	0.44 (0.29-0.68)		0.63 (0.36-1.13)
≥55	0.23 (0.15-0.37)		0.25 (0.13-0.50)
Gender
Female	1.00	<0.001	1.00	0.048
Male	0.65 (0.53-0.79)		0.75 (0.56-0.99)
Marital status
Married/de facto	1.00	<0.001	1.00	0.008
Separated/divorced/widowed	2.23 (1.64-3.03)		1.68 (1.13-2.50)
Single	2.36 (1.76-3.20)		1.52 (1.02-2.26)
Education
High school or less	1.00	<0.001	1.00	0.921
Diploma or certificate	0.83 (0.66-1.04)		0.99 (0.73-1.33)
University degree	0.46 (0.32-0.64)		0.90 (0.55-1.48)
Household income (AU$)
Less than 25 000	1.00	<0.001	1.00	0.023
25 000-49 999	0.90 (0.64-1.26)		0.97 (0.60-1.57)
50 000-74 999	0.62 (0.45-0.86)		0.83 (0.50-1.38)
≥75 000	0.26 (0.19-0.36)		0.55 (0.32-0.94)
Occupation
Unemployed/not in labour force	1.00	<0.001	1.00	0.010
Blue-collar	0.57 (0.43-0.77)		0.56 (0.36-0.85)
White-collar	0.62 (0.45-0.84)		0.62 (0.40-0.95)
Professional	0.34 (0.25-0.46)		0.49 (0.31-0.77)
Financial stress at Wave 1
None	1.00	<0.001	1.00	0.001
One or more instance	11.09 (8.41-14.62)		7.61 (5.67-10.21)

Characteristics of Survey Respondents ( n = 1747)
	% in sample	% quit	% financial stress
Smoking status
Smoker	92.2	-	62.6
Quitter	7.8	-	49.2
Age
18-24	10.3	6.7	75.4
25-39	40.8	8.5	66.8
40-54	33.3	8.1	57.5
≥55	15.7	9.6	41.6
Gender
Female	48.6	9.5	66.1
Male	51.4	7.3	55.7
Marital status
Married/de facto	61.8	9.7	52.8
Separated/divorced/widowed	17.0	5.5	71.4
Single	21.2	6.8	72.6
Education
High school or less	57.9	8.6	64.1
Diploma or certificate	30.8	6.9	59.7
University degree	11.3	10.8	44.9
Household income (AU$)
Less than 25 000	21.0	6.9	72.9
25 000-49 999	29.4	5.0	70.7
50 000-74 999	23.4	10.0	62.5
≥75 000	26.2	11.2	41.1
Occupation
Unemployed/not in labour force	34.5	9.0	71.0
Blue-collar	24.8	6.9	58.5
White-collar	19.6	9.0	60.2
Professional	21.1	8.3	45.5

Odds Ratios (OR) and 95% CI for the Effects of Covariates on the Odds of Experiencing Financial Stress ( n = 1530)
	Crude OR	P-value	Adjusted OR	P-value
Smoking status
Smoker	1.00	0.007	1.00	0.028
Quitter	0.58		0.58 (0.36-0.94)
Age
18-24	1.00	<0.001	1.00	<0.001
25-39	0.66 (0.44-0.99)		0.86 (0.50-1.50)
40-54	0.44 (0.29-0.68)		0.63 (0.36-1.13)
≥55	0.23 (0.15-0.37)		0.25 (0.13-0.50)
Gender
Female	1.00	<0.001	1.00	0.048
Male	0.65 (0.53-0.79)		0.75 (0.56-0.99)
Marital status
Married/de facto	1.00	<0.001	1.00	0.008
Separated/divorced/widowed	2.23 (1.64-3.03)		1.68 (1.13-2.50)
Single	2.36 (1.76-3.20)		1.52 (1.02-2.26)
Education
High school or less	1.00	<0.001	1.00	0.921
Diploma or certificate	0.83 (0.66-1.04)		0.99 (0.73-1.33)
University degree	0.46 (0.32-0.64)		0.90 (0.55-1.48)
Household income (AU$)
Less than 25 000	1.00	<0.001	1.00	0.023
25 000-49 999	0.90 (0.64-1.26)		0.97 (0.60-1.57)
50 000-74 999	0.62 (0.45-0.86)		0.83 (0.50-1.38)
≥75 000	0.26 (0.19-0.36)		0.55 (0.32-0.94)
Occupation
Unemployed/not in labour force	1.00	<0.001	1.00	0.010
Blue-collar	0.57 (0.43-0.77)		0.56 (0.36-0.85)
White-collar	0.62 (0.45-0.84)		0.62 (0.40-0.95)
Professional	0.34 (0.25-0.46)		0.49 (0.31-0.77)
Financial stress at Wave 1
None	1.00	<0.001	1.00	0.001
One or more instance	11.09 (8.41-14.62)		7.61 (5.67-10.21)

Distribution of the Financial Stress Items
Item	Percent
Could not pay electricity, gas or telephone bills on time	26.3
Could not pay mortgage/rent on time	13.0
Pawned or sold something	10.5
Went without meals	7.8
Was unable to heat home	4.7
Asked for financial help from friends or family	23.5
Asked for help from welfare/community organisations	7.2
Could not raise AU$2000 within a week for an emergency	53.8

Odds Ratios (OR) and 95% CI for the Effects of Covariates on the Odds of Experiencing Financial Stress ( n = 1530)
	Crude OR	P-value	Adjusted OR	P-value
Smoking status
Smoker	1.00	0.007	1.00	0.028
Quitter	0.58		0.58 (0.36-0.94)
Age
18-24	1.00	<0.001	1.00	<0.001
25-39	0.66 (0.44-0.99)		0.86 (0.50-1.50)
40-54	0.44 (0.29-0.68)		0.63 (0.36-1.13)
≥55	0.23 (0.15-0.37)		0.25 (0.13-0.50)
Gender
Female	1.00	<0.001	1.00	0.048
Male	0.65 (0.53-0.79)		0.75 (0.56-0.99)
Marital status
Married/de facto	1.00	<0.001	1.00	0.008
Separated/divorced/widowed	2.23 (1.64-3.03)		1.68 (1.13-2.50)
Single	2.36 (1.76-3.20)		1.52 (1.02-2.26)
Education
High school or less	1.00	<0.001	1.00	0.921
Diploma or certificate	0.83 (0.66-1.04)		0.99 (0.73-1.33)
University degree	0.46 (0.32-0.64)		0.90 (0.55-1.48)
Household income (AU$)
Less than 25 000	1.00	<0.001	1.00	0.023
25 000-49 999	0.90 (0.64-1.26)		0.97 (0.60-1.57)
50 000-74 999	0.62 (0.45-0.86)		0.83 (0.50-1.38)
≥75 000	0.26 (0.19-0.36)		0.55 (0.32-0.94)
Occupation
Unemployed/not in labour force	1.00	<0.001	1.00	0.010
Blue-collar	0.57 (0.43-0.77)		0.56 (0.36-0.85)
White-collar	0.62 (0.45-0.84)		0.62 (0.40-0.95)
Professional	0.34 (0.25-0.46)		0.49 (0.31-0.77)
Financial stress at Wave 1
None	1.00	<0.001	1.00	0.001
One or more instance	11.09 (8.41-14.62)		7.61 (5.67-10.21)

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