Brief: Stringent smoking laws, combined with the increasing cost of cigarettes, are discouraging South Africans from smoking, with a significant number of smokers considering quitting, a nationwide smoking survey has found.
Stringent smoking laws, combined with the increasing cost of cigarettes, are discouraging South Africans from smoking, with a significant number of smokers considering quitting, a nationwide smoking survey has found.
The survey, carried out in March and April, found that smokers' habits, trends and behaviours were changing, with 66 percent of smokers saying the legislation restricting smoking in public places was making smokers consider quitting.
Smokers, non-smokers and former smokers were surveyed. Amendments to the Tobacco Control Act came into force in September, barring smoking in partially enclosed areas and in cars in which there were small children.
The amendments banned smoking in entertainment areas, including pubs, clubs, restaurant patios, and balconies, as well on pavements and in parkades.
Vanessa Sew Chung Hong, brand manager for Nicorette, which commissioned the survey, said it was encouraging that more people were thinking of quitting.
Of the 16 645 participants, 56 percent of the former smokers agreed with the stricter legislation, as did 44 percent of smokers and 48 percent of non-smokers.
Gauteng and the Western Cape had the most participants in the survey, accounting for 45 percent and 28 percent of the respondents.
About 63 percent of the smokers said they had tried to quit smoking between two and five times, while 6 percent had tried to quit more than six times. Another 6 percent said they had lost count.
Participants cited stress as their reason for smoking, while those who had quit said willpower had been the most effective way to stop.
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