Service and sales workers, are they vulnerable to smoking cessation?

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the association between failed smoking cessation and occupation by age stratification among Korean males and provide quantitative evidence of factors associated with failed smoking cessation. The study comprised 3,127 male workers who had attempted smoking cessation during their life time. Data were obtained from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2010 to 2012. Participants were stratified by age into two subgroups comprising a younger group (19–40 yr) and an older group (41–60 yr). Multiple logistic regression analyses were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) for failed smoking cessation. In the younger group, failed smoking cessation was related to the occupational fields "service and sales" and "manual work" compared to "office work" (OR: 2.10, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.34–3.29; and OR: 1.47, 95% CI: 1.02–2.12, respectively). In the older group, the ORs of failed smoking cessation occupational categories "service and sales" and "manual work" [ref: office workers] were 0.58 (0.40–0.85) and 0.90 (0.66–1.24), respectively. Failed smoking cessation is associated with occupational categories and age stratification. Policy makers need to create tailored anti-smoking policy considering the occupation and the age of the subjects.