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Professor and Hon Consultant in Dental Public Health, Applied Clinical Research and Public Health, Cardiff University School of Dentistry, Heath Park, Cardiff CF14 4XY, UK
While the role of the dental team in promoting smoking cessation is well described, the nuances of counselling on tobacco use in individuals from ethnic minority backgrounds are less well understood. Beliefs and cultural practices require consideration when discussing the benefits of stopping smoking, an important consideration in a country with the great ethnic diversity prevalent in the UK. This article discusses culturally related barriers to patients stopping smoking. Recommendations for members of the dental team to consider next time they have a conversation with a patient from an ethnic minority background regarding their smoking habits are presented.
CPD/Clinical Relevance: This article provides advice on how the dental team can help patients from ethnic minorities stop smoking.
Article
The UK is a multi-ethnic country; however, current research focusing on ethnicity in relation to smoking cessation is not extensive. There are currently no action plans targeting smokers of ethnic minority backgrounds in the Tobacco control plan.1
The first cases of smoking tobacco in England date back to the 1500s when sailors brought tobacco back from the Americas where it had been used historically as a means of spiritual communication, and a healer of illness.2 In the course of the twentieth century, the long-term dangers of smoking to health were recognized and accepted. Although the UK has seen a substantial fall in the number of cigarette smokers since the 1970s, tobacco smoking is still the leading cause of preventable death in the UK and imposes a high burden on the healthcare system.3
Figure 1 illustrates the ethnic breakdown of England and Wales in 2011. These data show a decrease in the White ethnic population from 94.1% in 1991 to 86% in 2011. These figures were further investigated to determine the 10-year population change of ethnic minorities in England and Wales from 2001 to 2011. There was a population increase in all ethnic minority groups (except that of Caribbean, which remained the same).
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