Effects of smoking cessation media and community campaigns in Taiwan

Purpose. To examine the effects of a smoking cessation campaign. Design. Data from the 2010-2011 Taiwan Adult Tobacco Surveys were analyzed. Setting. The study was set among a nationally representative sample of adults in Taiwan. Subjects. The surveys included 16,282 and 16,886 adults in 2010 and 2011, respectively, while our analyses focused on current smokers, 2518 and 2507 adults in 2010 and 2011, respectively. Intervention. In 2010 the Taiwanese government launched a national smoking cessation campaign through mass media in conjunction with community-based smoking cessation programs throughout the nation. Measures. Outcome variables include awareness of cessation services, quit attempts, intention to quit, and use of quitting method. Analysis. Multivariate logistic regressions were used to analyze data. Results. The implementation of the national smoking cessation campaign was associated with an increase in awareness of cessation services (odds ratio [OR] = 1.36; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.20-1.53), in quit attempts (OR = 1.12; 95% CI = 1.01-1.25), in use of unassisted quitting methods (OR = 1.39; 95% CI = 1.13-1.72), and in intention to quit smoking (OR = 1.15; 95% CI = 1.02-1.30). Conclusion. The implementation of the national smoking cessation campaign through media and community programs was effective in increasing smokers' awareness of cessation services, quit attempts, and intention to quit.