Washington, Jan 13: Bidding farewell to smoking is easy for people aged between 18 to 24 as they are more likely to make a serious effort to quit, researchers say. The study published in American Journal of Public Health found the older the smoker is, the less likely he or she is to quit or even try to quit.

It also showed that smokers who lived in a smoke-free home were four times more successful at quitting than those not in a home with a smoker, the Science Daily reported. ''It has been hypothesised that young people who take up smoking with restrictions at work and home are likely to develop lower levels of dependence than smokers who took up the habit without such restrictions,'' said Dr Pierce, one of the researchers from the University of California, San Diego.

The study utilised the largest available national data sample, the 2003 Tobacco Use Supplement to the US Current Population Survey, to evaluate the relationship between smoking cessation rates and tobacco-related behaviors between age groups.

Eighty-four per cent of those 18 to 24 years old reported seriously trying to quit in the prior year compared to just 64 per cent of those 50 to 64 years old, the study revealed.

UNI