Individual, social and environmental predictors of successful youth smoking cessation

Fifteen percent of Canadian youth smoke despite knowledge of increased health risks. Most youth smokers report a desire to quit smoking and try to do so but are unsuccessful. Rates of youth and young adult smoking cessation are much lower than cessation rates for older adults. Many youth studies have examined predictors of smoking, but few have examined predictors of successful cessation in youth smokers. The 2008-09 Youth Smoking Survey (YSS) sampled 51 000 Canadian students from all ten provinces in grades 6-12. This instrument measures smoking behaviours and attitudes to monitor the effectiveness of national, provincial and regional tobacco control strategies. This project aims to examine information from current and former youth smokers using individual-level data from the 2008-09 YSS with the goal of understanding some individual, psychosocial, social and environmental factors associated with successful smoking cessation. Predictors of youth current and former smokers will be described using logistic regression models and compared using univariate analysis. Comparisons of youth former and current smokers will be completed using multivariate regression models to highlight key predictors of successful cessation.