OBJECTIVES: Smoking is a harmful habit which is responsible for numerous health problems. Although various measures against smoking have been developed and implemented, universal effectiveness of the anti-smoking campaign is yet to be achieved. Aim of the present analysis is to investigate which factors are associated with smoking status in Greece.

METHODS: Primary data for the analysis were extracted from the “Health and Welfare” health interview survey conducted by the Hellenic National School of Public Health. The study sample was representative of the general population in Greece (2,003 adults) and data refer to year 2017. For the statistical analysis, a binary logistic regression model was constructed. The dependent variable was smoking status (current smokers vs previous/never smokers) and independent variables were: age, gender, marital status, educational level, income and occupation.

RESULTS: Of the overall sample, 32.1% were current smokers, 16.5% were previous smokers and 51.4% were not smokers. According to the analysis, age (p-value=0.000), educational level (p-value=0.000), marital status (p-value=0.000) and occupation (p-value=0.000) were statistically significant determinants. In detail, probability to be a current smoker was lower for older people (OR=0.972), for persons with higher educational level (OR=0.905) and for respondents who were students compared to those who were self-employed (OR=0.250). On the other side, probability to be a current smoker was higher for respondents who were divorced compared to those who were married/living with partner (OR=3.332).

CONCLUSIONS: Based on the results, smoking status is affected by a number of socioeconomic factors, which indicates why measures towards smoking reduction are not effective for the society as a whole. The various socioeconomic factors associated with smoking should be taken into consideration when designing campaigns and strategies against it, as focus on certain groups of the population could be proved more effective than those who target the general population.