By Tammy Gay

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The majority of smokers polled during the recent Kentucky survey showed that they are interested in quitting, but health care providers are not routinely advising them to do so.

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A University of Kentucky College of Nursing faculty member placed tobacco-related questions on the survey, a telephone survey conducted by the UK Survey Research Center between May 18 and June 26.

A random sample of 1,070 Kentucky residents were asked if they had tried to quit smoking (if they were smokers); if smoking was permitted inside their workplace or home; and what advice concerning smoking their health care provider had given them during the past 12 months.

One in three people interviewed said they had smoked cigarettes in the past 30 days and nearly one in 10 said they used smokeless tobacco or smoked cigars or pipes in the last 30 days.

Of the smokers surveyed, 78 percent said they had tried to quit. Nearly three out of four surveyed said smoking was banned in their workplace; however, four out of
10 people surveyed reported exposure to secondhand smoke in their homes in the past 30 days.

"Smokers who work and live in smoke-free environments are more likely to quit compared to those who are permitted to smoke indoors," said Ellen Hahn, D.N.S., associate professor, UK College of Nursing.

"While nearly three out of four people interviewed said smoking is banned inside their workplace, there are still far too many people who are exposed to secondhand smoke at work and at home."

In the survey, only half of the participants who smoked said their health care provider advised them to stop smoking in the last year. Nearly two out of 10 people surveyed said their health care provider asked them about smoking inside their home and only one out of 10 said their health care provider requested they ban smoking inside their home.

"Tobacco dependence is a chronic disease that requires ongoing and repeated medical treatment," Hahn said. "Studies show that even brief advice from health care providers to stop smoking can increase the chance that a smoker will quit."

During the poll, 1,070 surveys (51.2 percent response rate) were completed with adults 18 and older. The margin of error is about plus or minus 3 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.