In 2009, 9.5% of Americans older than 65 smoke. That's 11% of men and 8% of women over 65 who are current smokers. That is less than half of the percentage of any other age group older than 18, as an average 20.6% of adult Americans smoke. (23.5% of all adult men and 17.9% of all adult women in the US)
Not only are the older people are doing pretty well in terms of lower percentages of them smoking, they have also done a great job quitting.
Remarkably, 55% of the men previously smoked cigarettes, meaning that about 4 out of 5 of these men were able to kick the habit. 31% of the women previously smoked, meaning that two-thirds of them were able to stop.
What Factors Help People Stop Smoking?
A study conducted in Lebanon among an elderly population showed that the odds of quitting smoking were greatly increased when people were diagnosed with a chronic illness or had a functional disability.
Other studies have indicated that people with higher socioeconomic status relapsed (started smoking again) less after quitting.
One large international study which followed 1,449 former smokers found that the biggest psychological/factor in not relapsing was "decline in capacity to control negative affect." In other words, the people that were less able to control their negative emotions after quitting were more likely to start smoking again.
What Does This Mean for Me If I'm Trying to Quit Smoking?
Clearly, advice to avoid being diagnosed with a chronic illness and to get richer, while both desirable, is not realistic for most people in the short-term.
However, perhaps looking at the "control over negative emotions" piece of the puzzle could be helpful. One pilot study looked at "mindfulness based stress reduction" showed that 56% of people quitting smoking had not started smoking again six weeks after the program ended. People that were "highly compliant meditators" were 50% more likely to control negative emotions.
For more information, encouragement and support, visit About.com's smoking cessation site.
Read more about meditation:
Sources:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Vital Signs: Current Cigarette Smoking Among Adults Aged ≥ 18 Years―United States, 2009. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2010;59(35):1135–40 [accessed 2011 Jan 14].
Chaaya M, Mehio-Sibai A., El-Chemaly S. Smoking patterns and predictors of smoking cessation in elderly populations in Lebanon. Int J Tuberc Lung Dis, 2006 Aug;10(8):917-23.
Davis JM, Fleming MF, Bonus KA, Baker TB. A pilot study on mindfulness based stress reduction for smokers. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2007 Jan 25;7:2.
Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics. Older Americans 2010: Key Indicators of Well-Being. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. July 2010.
Yong HH, Borland R, Cooper J, Cummings KM. Postquitting experiences and expectations of adult smokers and their association with subsequent relapse: findings from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Four Country Survey. Nicotine Tob Res, 2010 Oct;12 Suppl:S12-9.
