Disadvantaged women and smoking

High rates of smoking are found among disadvantaged women, and there is a demand for cessation interventions specifically targeted to meet their needs. This project used a number of information sources to examine the factors associated with these women's smoking behaviours and the potential barriers and supports to cessation. Few of the women-centred cessation programs whose representatives were contacted were appropriate for, or available to, disadvantaged women in Canada. Interviews with 386 disadvantaged women revealed that their smoking was intimately linked with their life situation of poverty, isolation and caregiving; smoking was a mechanism for coping with the stress of their lives. Agencies outside traditional tobacco control organizations, such as women's centres, were well positioned to initiate or expand services that support smoking cessation for these women and were trusted by the women who used their services. The findings have implications for programs, research and policy.