Exploring the social context of smoking behaviours: insights from stop-smoking advisors in deprived communities in Northwest of England UK

The behaviour-oriented interventions have resulted in a disproportionate decrease in smoking rates, with a more rapid decline in the least deprived areas compared to the deprived ones. The inverse care law theory provided a compelling framework for understanding these differences. It emphasised equal consideration of behavioural and structural interventions in addressing smoking habits in deprived neighbourhoods, highlighting the impact of socioeconomic factors and the limitations of individual behaviour-focused stop-smoking interventions.