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Community inequality and smoking cessation in New Zealand, 1981-2006

Community inequality and smoking cessation in New Zealand, 1981-2006
Community inequality and smoking cessation in New Zealand, 1981-2006
The overall prevalence of smoking in New Zealand reduced from 32% in 1981 to 23.5% in 2006 but rates of smoking cessation have not been consistent among all social, demographic and ethnic groups. The period 1981–2006 also saw macroeconomic changes in New Zealand that resulted in profound increases in social and economic inequalities. Within this socio-political context we address two questions. First, has there been a social polarisation in smoking prevalence and cessation in New Zealand between 1981 and 2006? Second, to what extent can ethnic variation in rates of quitting be explained by community inequality, independently of socio-economic status?We find that smoking behaviour in New Zealand has become socially and ethnically more polarised over the past two decades, with greater levels of smoking cessation among higher socio-economic groups, and among New Zealanders of European origin. Variations in quit rates between Maori and European New Zealanders cannot be fully accounted for by ethnic differences in socio-economic status. Community inequality exerted a significant influence on Maori (but not European) smoking quit rates. The association with community inequality was particularly profound among women, and for particular age groups living in urban areas. These findings extend the international evidence for a relationship between social inequality and health, and in particular smoking behaviour. The research also confirms the importance of considering the role of contextual factors when attempting to elucidate the mechanisms linking socio-economic factors to health outcomes. Our findings emphasise that, if future smoking cessation strategies are to be successful, attention has to shift from policies that focus solely on engineering individual behavioural change, to an inclusion of the role of environmental stressors such as community inequality.
0277-9536
876-884
Barnett, Ross
af9d111e-56a1-452f-b250-53efa5afaad4
Pearce, Jamie
0ecdb34b-6174-4814-bc1d-ab23c6f420d7
Moon, Graham
68cffc4d-72c1-41e9-b1fa-1570c5f3a0b4
Barnett, Ross
af9d111e-56a1-452f-b250-53efa5afaad4
Pearce, Jamie
0ecdb34b-6174-4814-bc1d-ab23c6f420d7
Moon, Graham
68cffc4d-72c1-41e9-b1fa-1570c5f3a0b4

Barnett, Ross, Pearce, Jamie and Moon, Graham (2009) Community inequality and smoking cessation in New Zealand, 1981-2006. Social Science & Medicine, 68 (5), 876-884. (doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2008.12.012).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The overall prevalence of smoking in New Zealand reduced from 32% in 1981 to 23.5% in 2006 but rates of smoking cessation have not been consistent among all social, demographic and ethnic groups. The period 1981–2006 also saw macroeconomic changes in New Zealand that resulted in profound increases in social and economic inequalities. Within this socio-political context we address two questions. First, has there been a social polarisation in smoking prevalence and cessation in New Zealand between 1981 and 2006? Second, to what extent can ethnic variation in rates of quitting be explained by community inequality, independently of socio-economic status?We find that smoking behaviour in New Zealand has become socially and ethnically more polarised over the past two decades, with greater levels of smoking cessation among higher socio-economic groups, and among New Zealanders of European origin. Variations in quit rates between Maori and European New Zealanders cannot be fully accounted for by ethnic differences in socio-economic status. Community inequality exerted a significant influence on Maori (but not European) smoking quit rates. The association with community inequality was particularly profound among women, and for particular age groups living in urban areas. These findings extend the international evidence for a relationship between social inequality and health, and in particular smoking behaviour. The research also confirms the importance of considering the role of contextual factors when attempting to elucidate the mechanisms linking socio-economic factors to health outcomes. Our findings emphasise that, if future smoking cessation strategies are to be successful, attention has to shift from policies that focus solely on engineering individual behavioural change, to an inclusion of the role of environmental stressors such as community inequality.

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Published date: March 2009
Organisations: Economy Culture & Space, PHEW – P (Population Health)

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 65890
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/65890
ISSN: 0277-9536
PURE UUID: 09f8b2c1-fc4c-44bf-aeb6-8e70610a0f0d
ORCID for Graham Moon: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-7256-8397

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Date deposited: 27 Mar 2009
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 02:52

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Contributors

Author: Ross Barnett
Author: Jamie Pearce
Author: Graham Moon ORCID iD

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