Page 132 - 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

“The nurse told him to stop smoking” Male, no information on age, a
smoker for 50 years
Older smokers mostly showed a high level of motivation, but with a great
variety of techniques they deemed acceptable. They often wanted quick fixes -
medication or NRT. Despite the frequent mention of loneliness, there was little
interest in group workshops.
“Wants to stop smoking right away, but he is not ready to change any-
thing... Asked me about IQOS and NRT.” Male, a smoker for 30 years
“I try to motivate him for different activities, but nothing convinces him ….
At the end, he asks for advice on medication …” Male, 72, a smoker for 20 years
“I tell him about the workshops in Heath Promotion Centres but he keeps
asking what I think about acupuncture...” Male, 74, no information on smok-
ing duration

132 “She wants to stop completely on September 1, 2022... Suitable for proactive
counselling, but she couldn’t decide on it so quickly.” Female, 72, no information
on smoking duration
zdravje delovno aktivnih in starejših odraslih | health of working-age and older adults
“I advise her to talk to a psychiatrist about quitting and to set a date by
which she would reduce the number of cigarettes ... I also tell her about other op-
tions but she is not interested.” Female, no information on age, no information
on smoking duration

Discussion
It is a worrying fact that up to 18 % of residents of nursing homes still smoke.
Only a good half of them (56 %) know that smoking is harmful. 44 % of nursing
homes smokers believe that quitting smoking would not improve their health.
48 % also believe that inhaling their cigarette smoke will not harm a non-smok-
er (Carosella et al., 2002). A lower level of education means they know less
about the harmful effects of smoking (Rutten et al., 2008). These data show that
the attitudes of older adults towards smoking are often incorrect and they need
to be continuously reminded of the benefits of non-smoking.
In our study, in addition to nicotine addiction loneliness emerged as a
predominant phenomenon that promotes smoking. Belgian qualitative re-
search describes loneliness as an elusive, intangible phenomenon. Older adults
had difficulty describing feelings of loneliness. It was seen as a normal part of
the aging process, defined by loss, limitation and lack of meaning. They de-
scribed experiences of feeling out of touch with the world and feeling isolated
in a literally and figuratively shrinking world. Loneliness has been described as
a feeling of being unable to change one’s situation, feeling deep sadness and a
lack of self-worth in one’s environment (Pageau et al., 2022).
It is very important to anticipate loneliness well before old age. Those at
risk need to be actively sought out because the ones we don’t see are most like-
ly the most isolated. Quitline is a good starting point for empowering an old-