Page 143 - Petelin, Ana, ur. 2024. Zdravje delovno aktivnih in starejših odraslih / Health of Working-Age and Older Adults. Zbornik povzetkov z recenzijo ▪︎ Book of Abstracts. Koper: Založba Univerze na Primorskem/University of Primorska Press

Smoking habits of older adults in Slovenia – analysis of Quitline calls

1
Saša Šajn Lekše , Tomaž Čakš 2
1 Community Health Centre Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
2 National Institute of Public Health, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Introduction: Older smokers have a higher risk of serious health complications and
death. Quitting smoking in old age has many benefits, but older adults are often over-
looked. Literature published in the last five years cites various percentages of older
smokers worldwide, between 8 to 12 % of people over the age of 65.. World No To-
bacco Day 2023 states that smoking cessation interventions should also target older
smokers. An analysis of 10 European countries showed that changes in legislation did
not reduce the prevalence of smoking among people over 65 years of age.
Methods: A qualitative content analysis of secondary sources was used. The data were
obtained from the recorded summaries of calls to the Slovenian telephone line for
smoking cessation (Quitline) in 2022. A purposeful sample of the records of anony-
mous telephone conversations with people over 60 years of age was used.
Results: 43 older adults contacted Quitline in one year. Their average age was 67 years,
they had been smoking for an average of more than 45 years, 20 cigarettes a day. Af-
ter several decades of smoking, they all had at least one experience of quitting. They
mostly relapsed due to stressful changes in life circumstances. Smoking is perpetuat-
ed through boredom or lack of activity. In several callers, counselors detected signs
that may point to psychiatric health problems. Older adults often smoke while drink-
ing coffee and women prefer to smoke alone rather than in company. Many of them
still smoke indoors. The most frequently mentioned health problems by older smok-
ers were: arterial hypertension, old myocardial infarction, shortness of breath, cough,
COPD, asthma, diabetes. Health problems and saving money were the most common
motivational factors for quitting. They often wanted quick quitting solutions.
Discussion and conclusions: Only about a half of older smokers know that smoking is
harmful. They believe that quitting would not improve their health and that passive
smoking is not harmful to others. Those with a lower level of education have less
knowledge. In addition to the physiological cause of addiction, the main factor in main-
taining smoking is loneliness. When an elderly person contacts Quitline, it is crucial to

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recognise the need for solutions in the aspect of oneliness. It is good practice to di- problemi, izzivi in priložnosti na področju zdravja ... | concerns, challenges and opportunities in the health ...
rect the elderly towards forms of assistance in their local environment. Elderly smok-
ers have different needs than other age groups. Everyone who comes in contact with
older smokers should be able to identify these needs and be able to provide appro-
priate help. QUITLINE should always be offered as one of the options when working
with an older smoker.
Keywords: older adults, smoking, cessation, Quitline

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