According to a new study published in the journal Tobacco Control stated that women smokers, who are concerned about their weight, are less likely to try to quit smoking. The study was conducted at University of Illinois at Chicago by lead author Ce Shang.

The researchers stated that women who are concerned about their weight are less influenced by anti-smoking policies like bumps in cigarette prices, smoke free laws or anti-tobacco messaging than other smokers are.

The researcher’s examined about 10, 000 smokers in the US, Canada, the UK and Australia as part of the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project. Respondents completed three surveys between 2002 and 2007 that asked questions on whether they agreed with the statement that smoking helps control weight; on their attempts to quit smoking; and on their exposure to tobacco policies such as price, anti-smoking messaging, and smoking bans at work or in public.

The analysis report stated that the female smokers who did not believe that smoking helps control weight is baseless, a 10% increase in cigarettes price was associated with a 6% rise in attempts to quit. But the women who believe that smoking helps in controlling weight did not increase their attempts to quit in response to a price increase. Also, the anti-smoking messages worked in women smokers who do not hold the weight control belief. For every 10% increase in anti-smoking messages, 12% increase in quit attempts are seen.

The researchers found similar patterns among smokers in the UK, but no differences in attempts to quit that correlated to the belief about weight-control in smokers of either gender in Australia or Canada.

AW: Lizitha