Background: To create a profile and assess demographic differences between smokers who attempt to quit smoking using cessation aids and those who do not.

Method: The New Zealand Tobacco Use Survey (NZTUS) was administered using Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing to a nationally representative sample (n=5,703) of New Zealanders aged 15 to 64 years. Demographic characteristics of smokers who used cessation aids and services in their last quit attempt (n=341) were compared to those who did not (n=1109).

Results: Preliminary results indicate that those who used cessation aids and services to quit were more likely to be female (OR, 1.08; 95% CI, 1.07-1.09) aged over 45 (OR, 1.86; 95% CI, 1.82-1.89) and Mâori (OR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.13-1.17). Results also indicate that those with a higher education and lower household income are less likely to have used any aid during their last quit attempt (OR, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.89-0.95) and (OR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.88-0.91) respectively.

Conclusions: Preliminary findings are contrary to those from previous studies, which show that smokers with higher household income and education are more likely to use cessation aids to quit.

Implications: These findings are specific to New Zealand, and may reflect the influence of different ethnic structures and smokefree environment policies on the use of cessation aids in this country. Results however are preliminary and require further investigation and control before strong conclusions can be made.