Relationship between smoking abstinence self-efficacy， smoking rationalization belief and willingness to quit smoking—a questionnaire survey of 336 male smokers in Shanghai

Objective To explore the influencing factors of willingness to quit smoking in smokers， and to provide reference for further smoking cessation intervention.

Methods Through purposive sampling， smokers were recruited from 4 residential communities and 3 companies in Shanghai for an online questionnaire survey. The survey included general demographic characteristics， willingness to quit smoking， smoking condition， tobacco addiction， awareness of influence of smoking， smoking abstinence self-efficacy， and smoking rationalization belief. T-test， χ² test and multiple logistic regression were used to analyze the data.

Results A total of 336 valid questionnaires were collected. The average age of the smokers was （37.1±10.2） years， and most of their education level was college or above （58.3%）. The daily number of cigarette use was （11.46±7.22） and most of smokers were classified as low nicotine dependence （58.3%）. Today 248 smokers planned to quit smoking in the next six months. Compared with smokers with low smoking abstinence self-efficacy， smokers with high self-efficacy were more likely to quit smoking （OR=2.406，95%CI： 1.357‒4.267）； Smokers with low smoking rationalization belief were more likely to quit smoking than those with high rationalization belief （OR=2.112， 95%CI： 1.167‒3.821）.

Conclusion Smoking abstinence self-efficacy has a positive impact on willingness to quit smoking， while smoking rationalization belief has a negative impact on the willingness to quit smoking. Efforts to improve smoking abstinence self-efficacy and dispel smoking rationalization beliefs of smokers should be made to promote the intention to quit among smokers.