Abstract
Objective:To explore associations between residents’ perceptions of the local residential environment and the likelihood of their smoking.Design:Using data (n = 2615) from the West of Scotland Twenty-07 Study, separately by gender, cross-sectional associations between respondents’ perceptions of neighbourhood (perceived absence of goods, incivilities and physical environmental problems) and the likelihood of being a current smoker and the amount smoked were examined.Results:Perceived neighbourhood problems are associated with the likelihood of smoking but mainly among those with the most negative view of the local neighbourhood. Perceptions of the provision of neighbourhood amenities seems to be more strongly associated with women’s than men’s smoking status, whereas the perceived quality of the local neighbourhood appears to be a better predictor of men’s smoking.Conclusions:Efforts to reduce smoking levels among more deprived groups may need to pay more attention to the role of local environmental conditions in influencing smoking behaviour.
Highlights
We have found that perceived neighbourhoods problems are associated with the likelihood of smoking but mainly among those with the most negative view of the local neighbourhood
There are several potential explanations for our findings; for example, it may be that areas which have the poorest environments are influential in inducing smoking behaviour as a response to the stress of living there; it may be that social norms with regard to smoking are operating more strongly in these neighbourhoods; or it may be that cigarettes are more readily available in the poorest neighbourhoods either through more shops selling tobacco products or that contraband products are more and cheaply available.[32]
Because these are cross-sectional data, we cannot rule out the possibility that both smoking and negative views about the environment are influenced by a fourth factor, or that smokers are selected in some way into less attractive neighbourhoods
Summary
A number of studies have shown that where people live is associated with the likelihood of smoking, even after controlling for individual socioeconomic factors.[1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10] Various explanations for this observation include local norms and culture,[11 12] and smoking as a potential coping mechanism to mediate stresses, including those associated with living in an unpleasant or threatening residential environment.[13 1]
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