Awareness and perceived effectiveness of smoking cessation treatments and services among New Zealand parents resident in highly deprived suburbs.

AIM: To describe the awareness and perceived effectiveness of smoking cessation treatments and services among a population of mainly Maori and Pacific parents in South Auckland, New Zealand. METHOD: Parents of pre-adolescent children from 4 schools were surveyed from 2007-2009 using a self-complete questionnaire. Awareness and perceived effectiveness of cessation treatments and services were analysed by smoking status, ethnicity, gender and age. Relative risks were calculated using log-binomial regression to establish differences between smokers and non-smokers. RESULTS: Awareness of Quitline, nicotine gum, and nicotine patch was higher among smokers (94%, 91%, 90%) than non-smokers (87%, 73%, 64%). Low percentages of smokers reported cessation interventions as effective (only 41% for Quitline--the intervention perceived effective by most). Awareness of varenicline, bupropion and nortriptyline was the lowest among both smokers and non-smokers (<31%). CONCLUSION: Poor awareness and low perceived efficacy of smoking cessation treatments and services among priority groups are barriers to accelerating the reduction of smoking prevalence in New Zealand.