Maria Polakowska
Public Health and Governance, Volume 7, Issue 2, 2009, pp. 49 - 57
Aim of the study is to examine the relationship between smoking and psychosocial factors – in the Polish population aged 20–74 years.
Methodology: Results are based on data from WOBASZ. Survey covered a representative sample of men and women aged 20–74 years. Data was collected from the response to the questions from the questionnaire. Smoker was defined as the person who regularly smokes at least 1 cigarette per day.
Results: From the drawn sample 13,285 people were examined – 6291 men and 6994 women. Smokers were 42% of men and 25% of women. Most smokers were pointed out in the groups aged 35–44 (44% M, 32% W) and 45–54 years (46% M and 31% W). The least smokers were in the oldest group aged 65–74 22% M and 5% W. The average age of initiation is low – 18 ± 3.6 years for men and 20 ± 4.9 years for women. Most smokers have primary education (69% M and 53% W), several times more in compare to those with higher education (6% M and 10% W). Most often smoker is a person doing physical work (43% M and 29% W). Single men smoked more often (43% M). Most smokers were in the lowest income group (44% M and 27% W) compared to those with the highest income (25% M, 18% W). People with low social support have a higher frequency of smoking (35% M, 41% W), and persons with depressive symptoms (23% M, 30% W). Most of the smokers declared intention to quit smoking (85% M and 83% W). The most common reasons for quitting were self-motivation (more than 40% of smokers), and fear of disease (17% W, 18% M).