Description of the Bill
Consideration is being given to CS/HB 5, which would change some of the provisions for Florida arrears. The US House of Representatives puts forward this bill without direct sponsors. The bill’s introduction aims to reduce infant mortality and potentially dangerous abortions. To this end, the law provides several measures and innovations to help achieve the necessary goals.
Goals of the Bill
First of all, one of the bill’s goals is to reduce tobacco use by young women. To do this, a tobacco education program aims to reveal the harm and consequences of using nicotine-containing items during pregnancy. Such awareness programs can significantly impact young people about to have a baby (Reducing Fetal and Infant Mortality, 2022). Spreading the word about the dangers of smoking during pregnancy could start a new statewide public health strategy.
In addition to direct smoking, the program also targets passive smoking. To implement preventive protection strategies for women who may become pregnant or are already pregnant, the bill provides for the refinancing of current programs, as well as several innovations, such as tobacco education among the younger generation.
Promoting Anti-Smoking Lifestyles
A program to promote healthy anti-smoking lifestyles for young people includes such steps as anti-advertising. This aspect is one of the most important aspects of tobacco products since the tobacco industry is widely spread by promoting and advertising its products in various media types, such as serials or films (Bednarczuk et al., 2020). To counteract such impact, the bill provides for the introduction of radio, television, and Internet programs that will talk about the consequences of smoking (Reducing Fetal and Infant Mortality, 2022). This can be an effective measure as young people can learn more about the social problem of smoking and the personal consequences for people. The program provides for creating an Internet center that will prepare and disseminate information about the dangers of smoking. At the same time, this center will have to use innovative technologies with the help of which the announcements will be aimed at a specific audience.
Implementing Smoking Cessation Programs
In addition, the bill also introduces a smoking cessation program that offers counseling and treatment for people with addiction. This policy is based on its implementation in local centers that maintain public health and on a public smoking cessation service (Reducing Fetal and Infant Mortality, 2022). Through such steps, an effective smoking cessation rate for young people can be achieved, as local and global services will provide reliable information on how to get treatment and what it takes.
Monitoring and Evaluating Program Effectiveness
With the help of the bill under consideration, all implemented policies have mechanisms for monitoring and checking their performance. This is ensured through annual epidemiological surveillance, which will show the program’s effectiveness. With its help, it will be possible to regulate the degree of promotion of smoking cessation and identify less effective places of the program to improve them. An appropriate school education program will also be introduced to improve the overall outcome of anti-tobacco education (Reducing Fetal and Infant Mortality, 2022). This is a preventive measure among children who may start using tobacco products in the future. Education will be provided to highlight the problems and threats of smoking for young people.
In addition, to prevent harm to women, the bill changed the maximum period for termination of pregnancy. The new regulation stipulates that abortion is only possible until the fetus is 15 weeks old (Reducing Fetal and Infant Mortality, 2022). Thus, doctors will not have the right to perform this operation if it turns out that the period is longer. This innovation is designed to improve fertility and take care of the health of mothers since late termination of pregnancy can adversely affect it.
References
Bednarczuk, N., Milner, A., & Greenough, A. (2020). The role of maternal smoking in sudden fetal and infant death pathogenesis. Frontiers in Neurology, 11. Web.
Reducing Fetal and Infant Mortality Act. Publ. L. No. 383.21625. (2022). Web.