The cultural context of smoking among immigrants from the former Soviet Union

The purpose of this descriptive, qualitative study was to gain understanding of the cultural context of smoking among immigrants from former Soviet Union countries now living in the Midwest United States. Semistructured interviews were conducted in focus group or individual settings (N = 14), including smokers and former smokers recruited from community settings. Social factors and stress management strongly motivated smoking behavior. Personal willpower was the most helpful cessation strategy, with firm lack of openness to pharmacologic approaches. Top past stressors included food insecurity and societal unrest, with the top current stressors being acculturative issues. The importance of social connectedness and the relatively low priority of prevention were also themes. Based on these interviews, interventions should include acculturative stress management and maintaining social connectedness, while addressing life experiences in the insecurity of basic needs. Smoking cessation interventions that are tailored beyond just language use and address these specific issues are suggested.