Understanding smoking, quitting and health inequalities

Healthwatch Kirklees wanted to look at smoking.  They gathered insights from 588 responses to our survey, ensuring diverse representation across age, gender, ethnicity, disability, and socio-economic backgrounds. 

The engagement was with people who smoke or who have previously smoked to understand their experiences, motivations, and barriers in quitting smoking.

1. Smoking and deprivation: A high proportion of people who smoke live in areas of deprivation and social housing.

2. Ethnic disparities: Due to social pressure, people from ethnically diverse backgrounds are more likely to face additional barriers to quitting.

3. Disability and smoking: 43% of those with a disability are people who smoke, with many using smoking as a coping mechanism for stress and mental health conditions.

4. Gender differences: Men are less likely to attempt quitting compared to women, who tend to make more attempts to stop smoking.

5. Long-term health conditions: People who smoke and have long-term conditions have the lowest confidence in quitting and the highest rates of tobacco use.

6. Mental health: Those with mental health conditions report higher smoking rates and lower confidence in quitting despite high motivation.

7. Barriers to quitting: The biggest challenges include addiction, stress, lack of willpower, cravings, and being around other people who smoke.

8. Motivators to quit: Health concerns and financial costs are the primary reasons people want to stop smoking.

9. Access to support: Many people who smoke are unaware of available services, with notable gaps in healthcare professionals signposting to support.

10.Service improvements needed: People who smoke want support to be available in their community, tailored support, incentives to help them quit, improved online support, better access to free stop-smoking aids, alternatives to vapes, and non-judgmental services.