A Randomized Controlled Trial of Two Different Lengths of Nicotine Replacement Therapy for Smoking Cessation
Table 1
Baseline demographic, smoking, and other characteristics of the two groups of participants.
Characteristics
A1 () % ()
A2 () % ()
value for test
Demographics:
Gender
0.84
Male
77.8 (221)
78.8 (219)
Female
22.2 (63)
21.2 (59)
Marital status
0.57
Single
39.4 (112)
42.1 (117)
Married/cohabiting
53.2 (151)
52.5 (146)
Divorced/separated/widowed
7.4 (21)
5.4 (15)
Occupational status
0.20
Currently employed
74.3 (211)
77.0 (214)
Unemployed
9.9 (28)
12.9 (36)
Housewife
8.1 (23)
4.0 (11)
Full-time student
3.5 (10)
3.2 (9)
Retired
4.2 (12)
2.9 (8)
Age, years
0.77
25 or below
16.2 (46)
17.3 (48)
26–35
39.8 (113)
35.6 (99)
36–45
24.6 (70)
25.5 (71)
46 or above
19.4 (55)
21.6 (60)
Educational attainment
0.56
Primary as below
9.9 (28)
9.4 (26)
Secondary (F1–F5)
61.3 (174)
57.6 (160)
Matriculation or above
28.9 (82)
33.1 (92)
Monthly household income
0.93
HK$9,999 or less
22.5 (64)
21.6 (60)
HK$10,000–29,999
56.3 (160)
56.1 (156)
HK$30,000 or above
21.1 (60)
22.3 (62)
Tobacco use related:
Daily cigarette consumption in the past month
0.30
10 or less
27.8 (79)
25.5 (71)
11–20
46.5 (132)
52.9 (147)
21 or above
25.7 (73)
21.6 (60)
Nicotine dependency level†
0.58
Low
26.1 (74)
28.4 (79)
Moderate
32.7 (93)
28.8 (80)
Severe
41.2 (117)
42.8 (119)
Years of smoking
0.83
1–10
28.2 (80)
26.3 (73)
11–20
36.6 (104)
36.3 (101)
20 or more
35.2 (100)
37.4 (104)
Spouse or household members’ smoking status
0.82
Smoker
12.3 (35)
12.9 (36)
Nonsmoker
87.7 (249)
87.1 (242)
No. of previous quitting attempt (s)
0.55
None
28.5 (81)
26.3 (73)
One or more
71.5 (203)
73.7 (205)
Length of abstinence in the last quitting attempt*
0.08
1–30 days
71.4 (145)
79.0 (162)
>30 days
28.6 (58)
21.0 (43)
Stage of change
0.18
Precontemplation
6.3 (18)
5.8 (16)
Contemplation
71.8 (204)
64.7 (180)
Preparation
18.0 (51)
25.5 (71)
Action
3.9 (11)
4.0 (11)
Choice of NRT use
0.65
Patch
71.2 (202)
69.0 (192)
Gum
28.8 (82)
31.0 (86)
Note: US$1 = HK$7.8. †Nicotine dependence level was measured by Fagerstrom scale. It is divided into 3 levels: low (score 0–3), moderate (score 4-5), and severe (score = 6–10).
*This question is only for those subjects who had attempted quitting smoking in the past.
