We need to talk about smoking and poverty
This project set out to investigate why there is not more collaboration between public health and anti-poverty interests, given the clear shared aims of improving people’s well-being, and to explore changes that might help to address this.
Methodology: semi-structured interviews with local anti-poverty organisations in Fife and Renfrewshire, complemented by discussions with several organisations working at a national level, following up with two focus groups.
Five main recommendations for the future which emerged:
· Improve understanding of the situation: Further exploring the role and impact of smoking in the lives of people living in poverty, including the participation of people with lived experience.
· Positively frame messages: In order to engage anti-poverty interests, messaging around smoking must be framed positively, with the emphasis on supporting people rather than on taking something away.
· Help to find alternative coping strategies: With smoking so often used as a coping mechanism, we must do more than just call on people to stop smoking and need to support them in finding alternative coping strategies.
· Offer organisations advice: Offer organisations the advice, resources and training they need in order to engage clients who smoke in an empathetic and supportive manner.
· Encourage better collaboration: Provide the necessary leadership, and encourage better collaboration between health and anti-poverty interests, by integrating smoking and poverty in local and national strategies.
