Recent surveys have shown that smoking is particularly common in Bangladeshi men, yet influences on smoking behaviour in South Asians in Britain are poorly understood.
In-depth interviews were conducted with 87 men and 54 women from Bangladeshi and Pakistani communities in Newcastle upon Tyne to understand their attitudes and behaviour in relation to smoking.
Four highly inter-related themes were found to influence views on smoking: gender, age, religion, and tradition.
Smoking among Bangladeshi and Pakistani men was strongly seen as socially acceptable and a "normal" part of being a man. However, among women, smoking was associated with stigma and shame.
Peer pressure was an important influence on smoking behaviour in younger people, and opinions differed on how acceptable smoking was within the Muslim religion.
Although these results show some similarities with studies of smoking behaviour in white people, they also highlight important differences, particularly the influence of gender and religion, say the authors.
Substantial effort and investment is needed in culturally sensitive smoking cessation interventions for South Asian people, involving the government and national and local health agencies, they conclude.