Smoking cessation strategies targeting people with low socio-economic status

Smoking cessation strategies targeting people with low socioeconomic status A first exploration of the effectiveness of available interventions Telephone counseling and free cessation support are found to be most effective in helping smokers with a low socioeconomic status (SES) stop smoking. Cessation support can, for example, be reimbursed through the healthcare insurance. Some evidence of effectiveness is available for cessation support at the workplace, mass media campaigns, school based programs and interventions for pregnant women. This is the result of an international literature study performed at the RIVM into the effectiveness of eleven different stop smoking interventions. It is important for policymakers to have knowledge of the effectiveness of interventions to reduce smoking in people with low SES. Smoking is more common in low SES groups. Therefore, smoking cessation interventions can achieve many health benefits especially in this group. The effectiveness of advertisement bans, tobacco tax increase, quit contests and smoking prohibition at the workplace is unclear, as no evidence/insufficient literature is found for these interventions. Evidence of no effect is found for community interventions, which are complex interventions, usually aiming at many risk factors at once and carried out in disadvantaged communities. This study focuses on interventions either tailored to reach low SES groups or with a specific effect in low SES groups. Also, interventions aiming at a general public while also reaching people with low SES are included. Based on the results of this study, the RIVM will develop and simulate scenario's in order to estimate the health gains and healthcare costs of policy measures. Preface Smoking bears considerable health risks and the socioeconomic differences in smoking can be related to a large part of socioeconomic differences in (healthy) life expectancy. The Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport aims to reduce socioeconomic differences in (healthy) life expectancy. One possible way forward would be the reduction of smoking in lower socioeconomic classes. Therefore, the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport has asked the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) to provide insights into the effectiveness of possible policies to reduce smoking in lower socioeconomic classes. This report contains a quick scan on the available evidence of the effectiveness of interventions to reduce smoking in persons with a lower socioeconomic status (SES). Several colleagues participated in writing this report. We would like to thank Mariël Droomers, Linda Kok and Annemarie Ruijsbroek (all from the RIVM) …