Smoking as a Public Health Concern in the Context of Healthy People 2030
In the midst of a worldwide epidemic, Healthy People 2030 comes into action during the following decade. As COVID-19 has brought the significance of public health to the forefront of national debate, it has become evident – now more than ever – that people need programs like Healthy People, which outline a shared vision of a healthy society with attainable targets on which we can collaborate (Healthy People 2030, n.d.). This program promotes public health, decreases populations at risk for today’s most frequent diseases, and prevents numerous outbreaks (Healthy People 2030, n.d.). The photograph that served as the basis for this story depicts a smoking issue in Oklahoma City.
Smoking may be reliably described as a societal problem that impacts both the smoking and non-smoking populations. The former has the challenge of stopping smoking, whilst the latter has the problem of avoiding the damaging impact of the smoking culture and not becoming “infected” by their habit, therefore protecting their health. Every year, 5.4 million people worldwide die as a result of smoking (Yasir & Hassan, 2021). By 2030, that figure will have surpassed 8 million, with developing nations accounting for more than 80% of tobacco-related fatalities (Perez-Warnisher et al., 2019).
The tobacco pandemic killed 100 million people in the twentieth century and will kill 1 billion people in the twenty-first (Perez-Warnisher et al., 2019). Addiction kills one out of every ten individuals globally, and if present rates of cigarette use continue, almost 500 million people worldwide might die (Perez-Warnisher et al., 2019). More than half of these individuals are teenagers and young adults. Many people believe that tobacco use is a real pandemic.
Tobacco smoking causes high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease (angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, heart rhythm issues, and sudden death), and brain stroke (cerebral hemorrhage). Cigarette smoking is responsible for 30-40% of all coronary heart disease fatalities (Perez-Warnisher et al., 2019). Smoking also adds to obliterative disorders of the blood vessels of the extremities. Small blood arteries are clogged by clots in these disorders, and their spasm, under the effect of nicotine, which enters the bloodstream during smoking, can result in gangrene. In such circumstances, the individual must undergo amputation.
There is also the risk of ongoing bronchitis and pulmonary emphysema, which are associated with the development of pneumosclerosis, the appearance of shortness of breath, and the development of heart failure. Smokers are at a 5-8 times greater risk of getting chronic lung disease than non-smokers (Perez-Warnisher et al., 2019). The list of possible problems in smokers is extensive, demonstrating how serious the smoking problem is.
Children are potential smokers from a young age, and teenagers are increasingly likely to start smoking. It has been proven that many of them experimented with tobacco as young as 15 years old, and that the cause for this was frequently adults, mostly parents (Perez-Warnisher et al., 2019). More than any amount of moralizing or brainwashing, the example of a nonsmoking father will persuade his children of the futility and danger of smoking.
A youngster who has grown up observing their parents or relatives smoking sees it as natural. Furthermore, smoking, according to adolescent ideas, is a display of boldness and independence, which he craves due to age characteristics (Perez-Warnisher et al., 2019). Dizziness and nausea – these are sensations that follow the first cigarette, which the youngster carefully conceals from others, particularly from those with whom they do not want to lose “authority.” A child’s body is more susceptible to smoking the younger they are. A cigarette smoker falls behind his classmates not just in cerebral growth but also in physical development.
Social Impact, Visual Evidence, and Policy Responses to Smoking
People who are affected by this problem do not place a high value on their habit since they do not see a solution to break it. Non-smokers are outraged, and the majority are upset since they are constantly exposed to cigarette smoke, such as at shopping entrances (Perez-Warnisher et al., 2019). People are often outraged, and yet most of the time they keep silent, afraid to reprimand smokers. Some people berate smokers and accuse them of being irresponsible to others. As a result, it is possible to reach the following conclusion: non-smokers disregard the problem.
However, the importance of the smoking problem has grown to the point that it impacts practically everyone and does significant harm to society. From my experience, I can say that those who smoke on the street are unconcerned with the people around them. They do not smoke in private areas but rather in the middle of a crowd or at a bus stop. This leaves non-smokers with no way to avoid the hazardous effects of tobacco smoke, exacerbating the situation.
The photo shows a man and a woman walking through the city. I photographed this particular image because it shows that there is a smoking problem in the city. The man is holding a cigarette and walking down a street where many non-smokers are also walking.
Additionally, I can assume that the woman walking next to the man does not smoke. This is a demonstration of how irresponsible smokers are to non-smokers, so it speaks to a problem that I have identified in the population of the city. This picture lacks children who could be walking on the same street as the teenagers who could take an example from the man. This would reflect the complete picture of the problem when children from an early age are under the influence of tobacco smoke, and when they grow up, they become smokers themselves.
To address the problem of tobacco use in Oklahoma City, the government must monitor tobacco usage and implement smoking-prevention legislation. It is also vital to safeguard individuals from tobacco smoke by adopting steps to limit smoking in public spaces. The government must also make available aid to people who wish to quit smoking and publish warnings about the harms of tobacco use.
A critical step is to impose limits on cigarette advertising and promotion, including sponsorship, as well as boost tobacco taxes. It is also feasible to use the example of nations where the problem of tobacco smoking does not exist among the people. Some Asian countries have used the most stringent anti-smoking measures for millennia. Thus, in the Kingdom of Bhutan, tobacco smoking was prohibited in public areas as early as the 16th century, and in 2004, a full ban was implemented on the sale, import, and use of tobacco (Capitanio, 2019).
For illicit tobacco product trade, violators face not only penalties but also imprisonment. Singapore prohibits smoking in public areas and the promotion of tobacco products. It also carefully limits the importation of cigarettes. A person may enter the nation with just one printed pack of cigarettes; however, if more tobacco is to be brought into the country, a statement must be submitted.
References
Capitanio, J. (2019). Three Tibetan Buddhist Texts on the Dangers of Tobacco (Late Nineteenth to Twenty-First Century). In Buddhism and Medicine: An Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Sources (pp. 65-86). Columbia University Press.
Healthy People 2030. (n.d.).
Perez-Warnisher, M. T., de Miguel, M. D. P. C., & Seijo, L. M. (2019). Tobacco use worldwide: Legislative efforts to curb consumption. Annals of Global Health, 85(1).
Yasir, A., & Hassan, H. B. H. (2021). Prevalence of Smoking among Health Workers and Effectiveness of Instructional Booklet concerning Risks of Smoking on Health Workers′ Knowledge in Baghdad Teaching Hospital. Iraqi National Journal of Nursing Specialties, 34(1), 38-49.