Quitting smoking and experience of smoking cessation interventions among UK Bangladeshi and Pakistani adults: the views of community members and health professionals.
OBJECTIVE
To explore attitudes to quitting smoking and experience of smoking cessation among Bangladeshi and Pakistani ethnic minority communities.


METHODS
Qualitative study using community participatory methods, purposeful sampling, interviews and focus groups, and a grounded approach to data generation and analysis.


METHODS
Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, 2000-2002.


METHODS
53 men and 20 women aged 18-80 years, including smokers, former smokers, and smokers' relatives, from the Bangladeshi and Pakistani communities; and eight health professionals working with these communities.


RESULTS
Motivation to quit was high but most attempts had failed. "Willpower" was the most common approach to quitting. For some, the holy month of Ramadan was used as an incentive, however few had been successful in quitting. Perceived barriers to success included being tempted by others, everyday stresses, and withdrawal symptoms. Few participants had sought advice from health services, or received cessation aids, such as nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) or buproprion. Family doctors were not viewed as accessible sources of advice on quitting. Health professionals and community members identified common barriers to accessing effective smoking cessation, including: language, religion and culture; negative attitudes to services; and lack of time and resources for professionals to develop necessary skills.


CONCLUSIONS
High levels of motivation do not seem to be matched by effective interventions or successful attempts to quit smoking among Bangladeshi and Pakistani adults in the UK. There is a need to adapt and test effective smoking cessation interventions to make them culturally acceptable to ethnic minority communities. UK tobacco control policies need to give special attention to the needs of ethnic minority groups.
White
Martin
M
Public Health Research Group, School of Population and Health Sciences, University of Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4HH, UK. martin.white@ncl.ac.uk
Bush
Judith
J
Kai
Joe
J
Bhopal
Raj
R
Rankin
Judith
J
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001459:Bangladesh / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010154:Pakistan / Q000208:ethnology; D012907:Smoking / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology