Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander People Encounter Barriers to Quitting Successfully

At a glance

  • Most people who smoke want to quit, and more than half of them try to do so each year.
  • Connecting every person who wants to quit with treatment proven to help them quit for good is important for improving people's health.
  • Descriptions of strategies that states and communities can use to help people quit smoking are below.
Smiling and affectionate couple

Barriers to quitting

Most people who smoke want to quit, and more than half of them try to do so each year. Among Asian adults who reported currently smoking cigarettes:

  • 70% say that they want to quit compared to 73% of Black people, 68% of White people, 67% of Hispanic people, and 56% of American Indian and Alaska Native people.1
  • 69% report that they tried to quit during the past year. This percentage is higher than that among Hispanic people and White people.1

Proven treatments, such as FDA-approved medicines and behavioral counseling, make it more likely people will quit smoking successfully.2 Barriers to getting these treatments have been documented among racial and ethnic population groups.34

asian doctor talking to elderly man
About 34% of Asian adults who smoke report getting advice to quit from a health care provider.

Research has shown that Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (A/NH/PI) patients are less likely to receive quitting advice from their health care providers than non-Hispanic White patients.1

  • Fewer Asian adults who smoked and tried to quit used evidence-based treatment (counseling or FDA-approved quit smoking medicine) than White adults who tried to quit.1
  • The Asian Smokers' Quitline (ASQ) offers free phone-based counseling and other quit-smoking resources. ASQ has counselors who speak Cantonese, Mandarin, Korean, and Vietnamese. Asian Americans who speak languages other than these may not be able to find the same services in their preferred language.
  • Of people who called ASQ, 48% had no health insurance to help them get free or lower-cost access to smoking cessation resources.5

Connecting people to resources is critical for health equity‎

Connecting every person who wants to quit with treatment proven to help them quit for good is important for improving people's health.

Examples of strategies that states and communities can use:

Provide barrier-free, widely promoted coverage for all evidence-based cessation treatments by all types of health insurance

For example, as of 2018, only 15 state Medicaid programs fully covered tobacco cessation (quitting) services for all traditional Medicaid enrollees.6

Increase access to tailored quit-smoking services

When it comes to health issues, one size does not fit all. Different people and communities have different needs and make decisions in different ways. For example, alternate cessation strategies may be helpful for those who smoke few cigarettes per day or who only on some days.2

Share health messages that reach A/NH/PI people

Mass media campaigns have been proven to increase smoking cessation, prevent tobacco use initiation, and reduce the prevalence of tobacco use. Anti-commercial tobacco messaging and mass media campaigns, like CDC's Tips from Former Smokers® (Tips®) campaign, can feature testimonials from people from many racial and ethnic groups.A Some Tips advertisements have been translated into Chinese (Mandarin/Cantonese), Korean, and Vietnamese and direct people to the Asian Smoker's Quitline. Additional information and resources can be found on the Tips Asian American webpage.

Fact sheets and guides

Websites

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Content Source:
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion; Office on Smoking and Health
  1. "Commercial tobacco" means harmful products that are made and sold by tobacco companies. It does not include "traditional tobacco" used by Indigenous groups for religious or ceremonial purposes.
  1. Babb S, Malarcher A, Schauer G, Asman K, Jamal A. Quitting Smoking Among Adults — United States, 2000–2015. MMWR. January 6, 2017. DOI: 65(52):1457-64.
  2. U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services. Smoking Cessation: A Report of the Surgeon General [PDF – 10 MB]. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2020 [accessed 2021 Jan 04]. https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/2020-cessation-sgr-full-report.pdf
  3. Cox, L. S., Okuyemi, K., Choi, W. S., Ahluwalia, J. S. (2011). A review of tobacco use treatments in U.S. ethnic minority populations. Am J of Health Promot. May-June, 2011. DOI: 25(5), S30-S30.
  4. Hooper MW, Payne M, and Parkinson KA. Tobacco cessation pharmacotherapy use among racial/ethnic minorities in the United States: Considerations for primary care [PDF – 936 KB]. Family Medicine and Community Health. October 1, 2017. DOI: 5(3):193–20.
  5. Kuiper N, Zhang L, Lee J, Babb SD, Anderson CM, Shannon C, et al. A National Asian-Language Smokers' Quitline–United States, 2012-2014. Prev Chronic Dis. June 25, 2015. DOI: 12:E99.
  6. DiGiulio A, Jump Z, Babb S, et al. State Medicaid Coverage for Tobacco Cessation Treatments and Barriers to Accessing Treatments — United States, 2008–2018. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. February 13, 2020. DOI: 69:155–160.