“Hike up yer Skirt, and Quit.” What Motivates and Supports Smoking Cessation in Builders and Renovators

Construction-related occupations have very high smoking prevalence rates and are an identified priority population for efforts to promote cessation. This study sought to identify the smoking cessation supports and services which best suited this workforce group, and to identify gaps in reach of preventive health services. We performed qualitative text analysis on pre-existing conversations about smoking cessation among workers in this sector. The material appeared on a discussion forum about residential construction from 1998 and 2011. Roughly 250 unique user names appeared in these discussions. The qualitative analysis addressed knowledge, motivation, environmental influences, and positive and negative experiences with supports for cessation. Self-identified smokers tended to want to quit and described little social value in smoking. Actual quit attempts were attributed to aging and tangible changes in health and fitness. Peer-to-peer social support for cessation was evident. Advice given was to avoid cigarettes and smokers, to focus on personal skills, personal commitment, and the benefits of cessation (beyond the harms from smoking). Many discussants had received medical support for cessation, but behavioural counselling services appeared underutilized. Our findings support efforts toward more complete bans on workplace smoking and increased promotion of available behavioural support services among dispersed blue-collar workers.