Page 127 - Petelin, Ana. 2024. Ed. Zdravje delovno aktivnih in starejših odraslih | Health of the Working-Age and Older Adults. Zbornik prispevkov z recenzijo | Proceedings. Koper: University of Primorska Press

patches, oral sprays or chewing gum. The cost of NRT is comparable to the cost
of nicotine products.
Telephone counselling lines are also available to help users quit smoking
in accordance with World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines and recom-
mendations. The first such line was established in 1982 in Australia, followed
by other English-speaking countries in the following decade. 53 countries have
an active quitline today. (WHO, 2014). Quitlines use three main approaches:
motivational interviewing, cognitive behavioral therapy, and acceptance and
commitment therapy (Liau, 2022).
Counsellors on the line come from various areas of expertise, mostly psy-
chology and medicine. Students in their final years are encouraged to partici-
pate. Before allowed to answer calls, they receive training in theoretical content
(harmfulness of smoking, addiction treatment, and counselling techniques)
and conducting telephone consultations. Callers receive information about the
benefits of not smoking, available quitting methods, tips on quitting, and sup- 127
port in maintaining abstinence. The telephone number, 080 27 77, is published
on packaging of tobacco and nicotine products. The line operates every day be-
tween 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. and between 5:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. (NIJZ,
2022).
The aim of this article was to describe habits of older people regarding
the use of tobacco and nicotine products as reported during calls to the Slove-
nian quitline. The purpose of the research was to lay the foundations for plan-
ning specific and effective interventions for the age group over 65 through un-
derstanding the smoking habits of older adults. smoking habits of older adults in slovenia – analysis of quitline calls

Methods
A qualitative content analysis of secondary sources was used. Calls are not re-
corded due to maintaing complete anonymity, so the data for the analysis was
obtained from manually recorded reports of all Quitline calls as written by
counselors in 2022. According to the Act on Data Collections in the Field of
Health Care, NIJZ is authorized to collect data through administrative data-
bases and research and the callers were not asked for their permission.

Sampling
In 2022, 27 counsellors logged a total of 799 phone calls. There were 385 serious
sessions that were carried out to the end, and 59 calls where otherwise serious
counselling sessions ended prematurely. 371 calls were made by daily or occa-
sional smokers seeking help to quit. More callers were male. Their average age
was 34.5 years, and most calls were recorded on weekday afternoons. The few-
est calls were made on Saturday mornings.
A purposive sample of 43 call reports was used, as subjectively recorded
by counsellors who spoke with a person older than 60 years at least once. The
chosen age limit was 60 years or higher, due to this age being one of the retire-