Quit attempts amongst tobacco users identified in the Tamil Nadu Tobacco Survey of 2015-16: A 3 year follow-up mixed methods study

Objectives

To determine current tobacco use in 2018-19, quit attempts made and to explore the enablers and barriers in quitting tobacco among tobacco users identified in the Tamil Nadu Tobacco Survey (TNTS) in 2015-16.

Setting

TNTS was conducted in 2015-16 throughout the state of TN in India covering 111363 individuals. Tobacco prevalence was found to be 5.2% (n=5208)

Participants

All tobacco users in eleven districts of TN identified by TNTS (n=2909) were tracked after three years by telephone. In-depth interviews (n=26) were conducted in a sub-sample to understand the enablers and barriers in quitting.

Primary and Secondary Outcomes

Current tobacco use status, any quit attempt and successful quit rate were the primary outcomes, while barriers and enablers in quitting were considered as secondary outcomes.

Results

Among the 2909 tobacco users identified in TNTS 2015-16, only 724 (24.9%) could be contacted by telephone, of which 555 (76.7%) consented.  Of ...