title: Barriers and facilitators to smoking cessation among Latino adults.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Previous studies have found that Latinos who smoke are less likely than non-Latino white smokers to use pharmaceutical aids such as nicotine replacement therapies or to receive physician advice to stop smoking. This qualitative study further explored barriers and facilitators to smoking cessation among Latino adults in Maryland.
  
  
  METHODS
  Five Spanish-language focus groups were conducted in September 2008 in Maryland with Latino current smoker and ex-smoker men and women (n = 55). Participants were recruited through flyers, information sheets, and site visits at community health clinics and Latino events, and were predominately of Central American origin.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Personal health concerns were the main reason to quit smoking; impact on children and family health and role model pressure were frequently mentioned. Barriers to quit smoking included environmental temptation and social factors, emotional pressure, addiction, and habitual behavior. Respondents mostly relied on themselves for cessation, with little use of cessation products or other medications, or awareness of available services.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Social influence serves both as a strong motivation for Latinos to quit smoking and as a source of temptation to continue smoking. Favored by both current smokers and ex-smokers, lay health promoters are effective agents to reach Latinos with smoking cessation interventions. In addition, the low use of cessation services could be improved by increasing awareness and availability of Spanish-language cessation services.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA. opokras@umd.edu
authors.forename: Olivia D
authors.initials: OD
authors.lastname: Carter-Pokras
authors.forename: Robert H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Feldman
authors.forename: Mariano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kanamori
authors.forename: Ivonne
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Rivera
authors.forename: Lu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Lourdes
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Baezconde-Garbanati
authors.forename: Jesse
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nodora
authors.forename: Jeannette
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Noltenius
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008396:Maryland; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D012907:Smoking / Q000523:psychology*; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000523:psychology*