In one of my other classes, we discussed tobacco use in the
United States this week, as it is the leading cause of death in America,
contributing greatly to heart disease, cancer, and more (Schneider 2016). Sadly as the WHO points out, “Tobacco is the
only legal drug that kills many of its users when used exactly as intended by
manufacturers” (WHO 2015). Just like all
our behavior, tobacco use is very much influenced by the social environment and
culture, and though it has become a highly stigmatized activity in the United
States, we must tackle this problem through community change rather than
individual blame and fear-mongering. After
all, so many Americans would like to quit and have failed. I have shadowed an oncologist of lung and
esophageal cancer on several occasions and I remember one patient that was
still smoking despite her cancer and had tried seemingly every method in the
book: allergic to one, couldn’t afford another, bad side effects, etc. This woman also lived in a house of other
smokers who hadn’t quit. This truly must
be embraced as a community effort.
Tobacco is highly stigmatized, and no one seems to feel too guilty about
that, even though the ecological model could just as easily be applied to many
of those situations where people feel they do not have a choice but to begin or
maintain a smoking habit.
Looking to world data, the United States is comparatively
not even very high in the rankings of smoking prevalence; the WHO reports a 19%
prevalence for American men but up to 76% in Indonesia (WHO 2015). Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe have very
high rates (40-50% most places), and the WHO regions of Eastern Mediterranean
and Africa are actually facing increasing prevalence rates (WHO 2015). Though US rates of smoking began to drop in
the end of the 1900s, lung cancer deaths in women increased by 500% from
1960-1990 (CDC 2015). It is scary that
this trend could appear in countries whose smoking rates are staying high or
even increasing. Even if progress is
made in health systems improvement and fighting communicable disease, we could
be in for disappointing results in global health improvement if smoking and
other unhealthy behaviors are not also a target of intervention. The same goes for rates of
overweight/obesity. Rather than
targeting only specific diseases with vaccination and medication or building
hospitals to care for the sick, these major killers must be recognized and
combatted by international health campaigns.
If not, we will end up with developing countries emerging with similar
health biomarkers as the U.S., and we aren’t exactly setting a great example.
References:
CDC. Tobacco-related mortality. Last updated August
2015. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/health_effects/tobacco_related_mortality/
Schneider, Mary-Jane. 2016. Introduction to public health. Jones
and Bartlett LLC; Burlington, MA.
WHO. Prevalence of
tobacco smoking: Global Health Observatory Data. 2015. Available at: http://www.who.int/gho/tobacco/use/en/
Image: http://uhaweb.hartford.edu/KRAKYTA/smoke-that-cigarette.jpg
Sydney,
ReplyDeleteGreat post! As we have been lucky in the U.S to see a drastic decrease in smoking through community efforts and policies, many countries still have shocking rates of tobacco use. Lung cancer and obesity-related diseases are highly preventable and I agree that we must target these interventions at the community and environmental level. It is not easy to stop smoking or eat a healthy diet if everyone around you is smoking and eating junk/fast food are the most convenient, cheapest ways to feed yourself. However, I think focusing on the individual is also a very important part as well. Although the prevalence of obesity and fast food and junk food is high, there are still people in the world that follow health diets and lifestyles. What is different about them? Is it different values, different income, different daily routines?
Sydney,
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I usually think about tobacco smoking and the sad fact that you pointed out “Tobacco is the only legal drug that kills many of its users when used exactly as intended by manufacturers”. I know that it is controversial, however I strongly agree that this issue needs an urgent action. How can we agree to sell a product that have a quote on it saying that it is deadly! How can we achieve profits on the expense of the health of people in both developed and developing countries? Another issue is the second hand smooking. Why should I get sick and even die from others bad behaviors? How can we face these challenges in the light of the current global political economics? How can we protect our health in the era of globalization? I agree that ecological approach is a must however, political an economic challenges are also tramendous.
Sydney,
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I usually think about tobacco smoking and the sad fact that you pointed out “Tobacco is the only legal drug that kills many of its users when used exactly as intended by manufacturers”. I know that it is controversial, however I strongly agree that this issue needs an urgent action. How can we agree to sell a product that have a quote on it saying that it is deadly! How can we achieve profits on the expense of the health of people in both developed and developing countries? Another issue is the second hand smooking. Why should I get sick and even die from others bad behaviors? How can we face these challenges in the light of the current global political economics? How can we protect our health in the era of globalization? I agree that ecological approach is a must however, political an economic challenges are also tramendous.