Health Promotion Programs – Smoking Cessation.
Medical research has long shown quitting smoking at any age can improve a person’s health.
But a Duke Univ. shows that the group you might think would be the least likely to quit – individuals over the age of 50 – might actually have the best odds for quitting through a tobacco use cessation program.
Researchers tracked 573 older patients over 10 years. They found that just 16 percent of those who joined the tobacco use cessation program later returned to tobacco use. Meanwhile, previous research has found young smokers who try to quit have a 35 percent to 45 percent relapse rate within two years.
Bottom line – Given the aging employee population and the cost of retiree healthcare, you may want to keep attempting with use of tobacco cessation education for your older employees.