The Experience of a Middle Eastern Smoking Cessation Program

Abstract

Introduction: Almost one-third of the Lebanese population are active smokers, with limited knowledge about their attitudes toward existing smoking cessation interventions. This study aims at exploring the facilitators and barriers facing a smoking cessation program (SCP) in a Lebanese tertiary referral center from the providers’ perspective. Materials and Methods: This is a qualitative study comprising a focus group discussion (FGD) among five practitioners from the SCP. The data collected were then transcribed and summarized by coding, simplifying, and transforming the raw data into major themes and subthemes as per the Miles and Huberman method of organization. Results: Facilitators and barriers fell under three subthemes: (1) participant factors, (2) provider factors, and (3) system factors. Facilitators included motivation and concerns about health among patients, in addition to increased behavioral support from providers. Meanwhile, barriers were much predominant and included stress factors and nicotine addiction among patients, time constraints among providers, lack of an effective referral system, inaccessibility, and unavailability of pharmacotherapy as well as a pro-smoking environment with weakly enforced tobacco legislation. Conclusion: Our findings implicate the need for multilevel strategies to help improve smoking cessation interventions. Addressing identified barriers is of paramount importance to help develop effective, accessible, and culturally specific tobacco treatment.