Tobacco smoking and vulnerable groups: Overcoming the barriers to harm reduction

Citation

Thirlway F, Bauld L, McNeill A & Notley C (2019) Tobacco smoking and vulnerable groups: Overcoming the barriers to harm reduction. Addictive Behaviors, 90, pp. 134-135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2018.10.016

Abstract
First paragraph: Tobacco use in high-income countries correlates with socio-economic disadvantage; groups vulnerable to disadvantage who also have high smoking prevalence include people who are homeless or in the prison system, those who have a mental illness or a drug or alcohol addiction, and the indigenous peoples of North America and Australasia (Twyman, Bonevski, Paul, & Bryant, 2014). In addition, pregnant women and young people are often regarded as vulnerable groups because of the importance of halting the tobacco epidemic in future generations (Notley, Blyth, Craig, Edwards, & Holland, 2015). A recent systematic review found that barriers to smoking cessation included smoking for stress management, lack of support from health and other service providers and high prevalence and acceptability of smoking in vulnerable communities (Twyman et al., 2014). However, while similar findings have been reported in many other studies and reviews, they have not resulted in widespread implementation of effective interventions to address continuing high rates of smoking in these groups. We need greater understanding of why tobacco control strategies have not reached or impacted upon vulnerable groups; but to reduce smoking-related health inequalities quickly, we also need alternative approaches.

Journal
Addictive Behaviors: Volume 90