Smoking: Does Personality Trait Play Any Significant Role?

Introduction: Tobacco smoking is the reason for killing 8 million people every year with the greatest burden on low- and middle-income countries. Studies have reported the relation between smoking and personality traits. In present study, we aimed to evaluate the differences in personalities of smokers and non-smokers in the rural area of Rajasthan. Materials & Methods: Study included 80 adolescents and adult subjects, of which 40 each were smokers and non-smokers. The personality assessment of the subjects were done through NEO-FFI (Costa & McCrae, 1992). Collected data was imported from Excel sheets to SPSS software ver. 26.0. Results: Neuroticism trait was significantly associated with smokers (67.5% vs 35%) while non-smoking behavior was associated with Conscientiousness (p<0.05). Conclusion: Present study found a notable correlation between neuroticism and the habit of smoking while conscientiousness seems to act as a protective factor against the progression and continuation of smoking. Thus, specific personality traits, particularly neuroticism, should be evaluated and potentially addressed in intervention programs targeting smoking behaviour.