Abstrak: Purpose: To examine the relationship between smoking status and health-related quality of life (HRQOL).

Design: Our study used a cross-sectional analysis with self-reported data from the 2001 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS).

Setting: United States.

Subjects: Subjects were a representative sample of noninstitutionalized adults aged 18 years and older. After excluding respondents who reported being pregnant and for whom smoking status could not be determined, we included 209,031 respondents.

Measures: Multiple logistic regressions were performed to examine the associations of smoking status with the four HRQOL items, controlling for demographic and health-related characteristics.

Results: Current smokers had a higher likelihood of reporting poor general health status compared with nonsmokers and ex-smokers. Compared with nonsmokers, current smokers had a higher likelihood of reporting > or = 14 days of poor physical health (odds ratio [OR] = 1.64, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.51-1.77), poor mental health (OR = 1.99, 95% Cl = 1.84-2.16), and activity limitations (OR = 1.80, 95% Cl = 1.63-2.00). Similarly, compared with ex-smokers, current smokers had a higher likelihood of reporting > or = 14 days of poor physical health (OR = 1.30, 95% CI = 1.19-1.42), poor mental health (OR = 1.65, 95% CI = 1.50-1.81), and activity limitations (OR = 1.48, 95% CI = 1.32-1.65). Age, income, and presence of comorbidities also significantly explained variation in HRQOL.

Conclusions: Our study reaffirms the significant association between smoking and HRQOL in a large nationally representative sample. Poor health associated with smoking persists as a major public health problem, and effective preventive and smoking cessation efforts should be undertaken.

Abstrak: Purpose: To test the relationships among particular motives for smoking cessation, stage of readiness to quit (preparation or contemplation), and sociodemographic characteristics.

Design: A cross-sectional study to examine attitudes toward and use of health promotion at the worksite, using a self-administered questionnaire.

Setting: Two German metal companies.

Subjects: Of 1641 responding employees (response rate 65% in company A and 44% in company B), 360 smokers who intended to quit immediately (n = 105) or in the near future (n = 255) were analyzed.

Measures: The questionnaire comprised of sociodemographic characteristics, smoking behavior, smoking history, readiness to quit smoking, motives to quit, such as coworkers' complaints and health-related or financial concerns. Chi-squared tests and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed.

Results: Health-related reasons (94%) predominated financial (27%) or image-related (14%) reasons for smoking cessation. Participants in the cessation preparation group were more likely to report an awareness of being addicted (79.6% vs. 58.2%; p < .001) and the negative public image (22.5% vs. 11.6%; p < .01) as reasons for quitting compared with those in the contemplation group. In multivariable regression models, the motives for smoking cessation, including reduced performance, family's and coworkers' complaints, pregnancy/children, and negative public image, but not health-related and financial concerns, differed significantly by gender, age, marital status, education, and occupational status.

Conclusions: Motives for smoking cessation vary according to the individual's level of readiness to quit and sociodemographic background.