Tobacco Use, Quitting, and Service Access for Northern California Arab Americans: A Participatory Study

Online Publication Date:
March 27, 2023
Publication Status:
Published
Published Article MUSE Link:
Manuscript PDF File:

**Published in Progress in Community Health Partnerships (PCHP) 17.3. All rights reserved.**

ABSTRACT

Background: Cigarette smoking rates have decreased in the USA, particularly in California. Despite representing a large population in the US and particularly in California, Arab Americans are not typically assessed in tobacco-related health studies. Disparately high smoking rates have been found in community samples of Arab Americans. In a formative participatory research study, we aimed to assess experiences with tobacco products and access to cessation and prevention services for Arab Americans who use commercial tobacco products.
Methods: In partnership with a Community Advisory Board, we conducted a Brief Survey of adult Northern California Arab Americans who use tobacco products, both men and women (n=101), followed by Assets Mapping to identify services, and Focus Groups with a subset of survey participants (n=30), to assess tobacco product use, readiness to quit, and access to culturally-appropriate cessation services.
Results: The majority of people who smoked did so daily. Waterpipe use was as common as cigarette smoking, and more so for women. Intent to quit was offset by highly normative tobacco use in the social environment, and limited access to culturally-appropriate cessation services.
Discussion: Improvement in outreach and services specific to Arab Americans may support prevention and cessation of commercial tobacco products.