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Table 4 Participants interpretation of the attitudes of others to smokers

From: Barriers and motivators to gaining access to smoking cessation services amongst deprived smokers – a qualitative study

Attitudes of society (non-smokers) and government

'They look down on you ...get funny looks, like you've committed a crime.'

'I sometimes think we're ...... pariahs because we smoke.'

'I remember I was waiting for a bus, I lit a cigarette up, there was a child there of about 5 or 6 years with his Mum, the child goes, "look what that man's doing Mummy", I thought "ergh".'

'....it's non smokers, they're like Born Again Christians, they go on a witch hunt, if they know you smoke'

'It's an addiction, I bet drug users get free stuff ....why don't they give us free stuff?'

'You've got Alcoholics Anonymous, but they don't think about smokers.'

'The Government doesn't want to stop it because of the amount of money they get from the whole country smoking.'

Attitudes of doctors

'I was rushed into hospital with a suspected heart attack, he stood at the bottom of the bed, "do you smoke, well stop it".'

'He said "I'm not going to nag at you, count it not as a failure because you went those 12 months, but just keep remembering how good you felt in those 12 months" and he went onto explain and said

"go away and think about it, if you ever want to come in...". But the lady (doctor) has never, ever offered me any sort of help just "how many do you smoke?" ....she just upsets me so much ...'