User:Rush Urban/sandbox

Homeless and Poverty Stricken Populations
Homelessness doubles the likelihood of an individual currently being a smoker. This is independent of other socioeconomic factors and behavioral health conditions. Homeless individuals have the same rates of the desire to quit smoking but are less likely than the general population to be successful in their attempt to quit.

In the United States, 60-80% of homeless adults are current smokers. This is a considerably higher rate than that of the general adult population of 19%. Many current smokers who are homeless report smoking as a means of coping with "all the pressure of being homeless." The perception that homeless people smoking is "socially acceptable" can also reinforce these trends.

Americans under the poverty line have higher rates of smoking and lower rates of quitting than those over the poverty line. It has been shown that while the homeless population as a whole is concerned about short-term effects of smoking such as shortness of breath of recurrent bronchitis, that are not as concerned with long-term consequences. The homeless population has unique barriers to quit smoking such as unstructured days, the stress of finding a job, and immediate survival needs that supersede the desire to quit smoking.

These unique barriers can be combated thusly: pharmacotherapy and behavioral counseling for high levels of nicotine dependence, emphasis of immediate financial benefits to those who concern themselves with the short-term over the long-term, partnering with shelters to reduce the social acceptability of smoking in this population, increased taxing not just on cigarettes but also on alternative tobacco products, to further make the addiction more difficult to fund.