摘要：Objectives . This study sought to determine whether the age at initiation of regular cigarette smoking and the likelihood of quitting smoking through age 35 differ among women from younger versus older generations. Methods . Annual population-based, random surveys (total of 3676 female residents of Geneva, Switzerland, aged 35–74 years) were conducted from 1992 to 1998. Results . Women younger than 55 years were more likely to be past or current smokers, began smoking earlier (median age < 20 years), and smoked more cigarettes per day than older women, yet attempted to quit smoking more often before age 35 (log-rank P < .001). Conclusions . Young female smokers have a higher propensity to quit smoking compared with older women. Encouraging young smokers to quit—in addition to preventing nonsmokers from starting—may be an important facet of reducing cigarette smoking prevalence among adolescents. Since the mid-1950s, European women have tended to start smoking cigarettes at an earlier age than in previous generations. 1, 2 Although primary prevention is the natural way to counteract these trends, paradoxically, encouraging smoking cessation also may be efficient. According to Breslau and Peterson, “The dramatic decline in the prevalence of cigarette smoking in the US since the 1960s has been primarily achieved by smokers' successful attempts to quit.” 3 Pierce and Gilpin have argued that encouraging addicted adolescent smokers to quit may be more effective than attempting to prevent nonsmokers from initiating smoking. 4 Therefore, it is important to examine whether an increased frequency of smoking cessation attempts by young people could be considered an additional indicator of the success of public health strategies designed to prevent cigarette smoking. With this perspective, we sought to determine the distribution, in a representative sample of the Geneva population, of first attempts to quit smoking among women 35 years or younger who had smoked at least 100 cigarettes and who initiated smoking at 25 years or younger. We collected more detailed information on cigarette smoking history than is usually available in large population-based surveys or cohort studies.
