Characteristics of Smokers Accessing the Puerto Rico Quitline‪.‬

Smoking is the leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality in the United States (1-2). Although the prevalence of smoking among Puerto Ricans living in Puerto Rico is lower (13.1 %) than among the U.S. general population (20.6%) (3), five of the seven leading causes of death in Puerto Rico (heart disease, malignant tumors, cerebrovascular diseases, hypertensive diseases and chronic pulmonary disease) are associated with smoking (4). Moreover, 11.5% of all deaths and 10% of all health care costs in Puerto Rico are attributable to smoking (5). Therefore, reducing tobacco use is a critical public health concern. In addition, over 60% of current smokers in Puerto Rico report that they want to quit smoking (6) highlighting the importance of promoting smoking cessation among the Puerto Rican population. A key component of national tobacco control efforts in the U.S. is the provision of smoking cessation programs to all interested smokers through the North American Quitline Consortium (7). The effectiveness of proactive telephone counseling for smoking cessation has been empirically demonstrated among both the general population and Hispanic smokers (8-9). Unfortunately, there is some evidence to suggest that the use of quitlines by Hispanic smokers may be low and that increased efforts to reach this population are necessary (9).