Quit smoking is a very difficult task for poor people
A new study shows that it is more difficult to quit smoking for people of lower socioeconomic status (SES) than for their counterparts who have greater financial and social status.
Christine Sheffer together with medical professor at CCNY's Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education studied smokers from different socioeconomic backgrounds. It was a part of a statewide smoking cessation program in Arkansas.
Whether rich or poor, participants could quit smoking at about the same rate upon completing a program of cognitive behavioral therapy. But as time went on, a disparity between the groups appeared and widened.
People with the fewest social and financial resources had the hardest time staving off cravings over the long run.
Professor Sheffer found out that smokers on the lowest rungs of the socioeconomic ladder had 55% risk of starting smoking again 3 months after treatment than those at the upper end.
By 6 months post-quitting, the probability of their going back to cigarettes jumped to two-and-a-half times that of the more affluent smokers.Professor Sheffer and her colleagues concluded that Americans with household incomes of 15,000$ or less smoke at nearly 3 times the rate of those with incomes of 50,000$ or greater.
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