RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To determine the profile of the smoker who wants to stop smoking. Subjects and methods. A cross-sectional, multicenter study was conducted in 1634 smokers attended by General Practitioners and Specialized Physicians in Spain who had expressed their desire to stop smoking when explicitly asked. Sociodemographic data, background of smoking and related consequences were collected. A descriptive statistical analysis was performed. RESULTS: 67.1% of patients were seen by General Practitioners. Mean age +/- standard deviation was 45.6 +/- 12.0 years old and mean age of onset of usual consumption was 20.6 +/- 7.0. Fifty-six percent of the population studied were men. Most (35.2%) had studied beyond high school and 76.4% were active workers. Seventy-one percent had previously tried to stop smoking (2.7+/- 3.0 mean attempts). Out of 39.2% smokers who had participated in some type of smoking cessation treatment the year before, 70.7% were on substitutive therapy with nicotine. At the time of the visit, 80% admitted they could not stop smoking by themselves. CONCLUSIONS: The profile of the smoker seen in Primary Care and Specialized Consultation in Spain who wants to quit smoking corresponds to a male subject in his 40's, with studies beyond high school, actively working who has made more that two previous attempts to stop smoking, mostly with substitutive therapy with nicotine and who currently believes he is not being able to achieve it by himself.