Key successes and challenges

This review of the evidence illustrates some of the key successes and challenges in addressing the issue of smoking and disadvantage.

Successes

• Whole-of-population approaches are effective across all groups and have been shown to reduce some of the disparities in smoking rates.
• Pharmacotherapies and counselling are effective among disadvantaged population groups and targeted approaches have been successful in increasing access and use.
• Provision of free or subsidised NRT increases use of effective cessation methods by disadvantaged groups.
• Social and community service providers are increasingly recognising tobacco use as an important issue for their clients. Some services have reported success and acceptance of smoke-free policies and cessation interventions among clients and staff.

• Changing cultural values and behaviours relating to smoking across the social and community services sector and successfully integrating tobacco control into core business.
• Improving access to and affordability of medications and cessation support.
• Changing broader social attitudes to the role of smoking in the lives of disadvantaged people and improving awareness of the health and economic benefits of cessation.
• Improving surveillance and monitoring to adequately capture smoking rates and trends among all disadvantaged groups.
• Strengthening the body of research that explores effective smoking cessation interventions among disadvantaged groups.
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