Do New Zealand Māori and Pacific ‘walk the Talk’ when It Comes to Stopping Smoking? A Qualitative Study of Motivation to Quit

Introduction: In March 2011, the New Zealand government committed to the goal of reducing the prevalence of current smokers to less than 5% by 2025. Smoking prevalence is significantly higher for Māori and Pacific peoples. To ensure a proportionately larger decrease in smoking prevalence for Māori and Pacific peoples by 2025, more effective strategies for prompting cessation among these groups are needed. Aim: This study aimed to identify what motivates Māori and Pacific people to quit smoking so that communications and mass media quit campaigns can be more effective at triggering quitting among them. Method: A qualitative approach utilising focus groups (N = 168) was used to ask participants to rank reasons why people say they should quit smoking (the ‘talk’) which we compared with participants’ reasons for actually quitting (the ‘walk’). The results were plotted on a scatter graph using a method devised by the authors. Results: Health, children and pregnancy were perceived to be strong motivating reasons to quit and they were frequently cited as triggering past quit attempts. Cost was plotted high for Pacific but low for Māori especially for talk. ‘It stinks’ was cited as triggering past quit attempts, but was not perceived as a reason to quit. Conclusion: Emotionally important reasons and more immediate reasons for quitting are likely to be more effective at prompting Māori and Pacific peoples to stop smoking.