Abstract
[Objective] As the recognition of smoking- and passive smoking-related health problems is generally insufficient, we held a cessation support event to raise awareness of this issue, and examined its effects through a smoking attitude survey of the participants.
[Methods] The cessation support event targeted students and faculty members of Kobe Gakuin University, and it took place 4 times between 2018 and 2019. During the event, a lecture on smoking- and passive smoking-related health problems was given, and a smoking attitude survey was conducted before and after the lecture. The participants were divided into 4 groups based on the experiences of smoking and cessation: smokers without experience of cessation (A), smokers who relapsed after cessation (B), former smokers who succeeded in stopping smoking (C), and nonsmokers (D). The recognition of smoking/passive smoking-related health problems were compared between before and after the lecture and among the 4 groups. The stages of smoking cessation in Groups A and B and the symptoms of smoking withdrawal experienced in Groups B and C were also investigated.
[Results] The most common withdrawal symptoms were “irritation and difficulty concentrating” in Group B, and the most common cause of relapse was “the influence of other people” in both Groups B and C, confirming the importance of symptom improvement and cooperation from other people to prevent relapses. The number of smoking-related health problems chosen increased only in Group D, and that of passive smoking-related health problems chosen increased only in Groups B and D. The numbers of smoking-related health problems chosen were smaller in Group A than in D before the lecture, suggesting that poor recognition of smoking-related health problems is associated with the continuation of smoking. When focusing on Group A, they showed a tendency to choose a reduced number of health problems after the lecture. Furthermore, half of the group members remained at low stages of smoking cessation.
[Conclusion] Our lecture to convey harmful effects of smoking may help promote cessation support to a certain level. To make it more effective, the provision of further information, such as methods to improve the symptoms of smoking withdrawal, may be required.

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