Survey Results on Smoking in Oman

Tobacco has and still is the most important public health issue faced in Australia and internationally. (Jochelson, 2006). Many countries such as North America, England, Australia, Canada and Ireland have introduced policies regarding smoking in public areas and restriction of smoking in indoor areas. (Thomson, Wilson & Edwards, 2009). The government, community leaders and policy makers work towards introducing policies that will stop consumers from smoking in public areas. (Pizacani, maher, Rohde, Drach & Stark, 2012). Government intervention should extend public smoking bans so that second hand smokers can be safe, a better environment and less death incidents relating to smoking.

Insurance companies using experience-rating are allowed to charge tobacco users more than 1.5 times the premium rate of a non-tobacco user.3 Smokers under employment-based health insurance could face up to a 50% increase in their premiums if there is no effort to cease smoking behaviors.4 The ACA has three main goals for restricting surcharges to smokers; limit the effects of high cost tobacco users, encourage smoking cessation and discourage others from developing smoking habits.5 Using surcharges to control tobacco use establishes the precedence that smokers are held responsible for preventing behaviors that lead to negative health outcomes. Smokers should hold a degree of responsibility for their tobacco use but they should not bear the complete burden if they actively participate in programs that promote the cessation or reduction of smoking habits. By doing so they are demonstrating their willingness to change their unhealthy behaviors as well as their commitment to the collective common good of health care and societal

Recently, cigarettes have been getting a bad rap. No one seems to understand that the real problem at hand is not the negative effects of smoking cigarettes, but those who abstain from smoking cigarettes. These people are nothing but a nuisance, a lousy bunch of no-gooders that just want to ruin your fun. In fact, smoking cigarettes is an activity that the entire population can benefit from. The world relies on the production and consumption of tobacco, and there are many positives of smoking that outweigh the negatives. For example, smokers dedicate a large portion of their life buying packs upon packs of cigarettes, which in turn gives a huge profit to the country. Surely if you consider yourself a

In the United States, smoking cigarettes is the number one preventable cause of morbidity and death (Bergen, 1999), and accounts for $300 Billion in health care costs and economic productivity loss (Jamal, 2015). While the national smoking rate is 16.8% (CDC, 2016), specific demographics are more susceptible to developing smoking habits: people who live below the poverty line (10.9% higher), disabled or with a limitation (6.2% higher), and males (4.7% higher) (Agaku, 2014).

One of my first memories in the United States was taking a Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E) class. I was in sixth grade and a top student, as talking about drugs and alcohol and the way they affect us was fascinating to me. This is why, the following year, I volunteered to become a peer educator in Teens Against Tobacco Use (T.A.T.U). For a couple of years, I gave presentations to young students which included facts, demonstrations, and games, to spread the knowledge that tobacco is harmful and that staying away from smoking prolongs life expectancy and increases the quality of life. It should come as no surprise, then, that I consider myself a big proponent of staying tobacco-free and encouraging others to quit smoking as a great way to promote health. I remember watching my mom and sister as they took part in their nightly ritual of smoking a few cigarettes to unwind. “Did you know that a main component of cigarettes is used as rocket fuel?” I would ask them, as I opened the window and they stared back at me blankly. “We know, we know” was the answer every time. I knew that convincing them to quit was no easy task, but I was committed. Day after day, I proudly stated a new fact about the evils of smoking. Finally one day, they quit. At first, they attributed it to the cost. Since we had just immigrated to the United States, the cost of cigarettes was simply not something they could afford. I didn’t believe it. I proudly

Action on Smoking and Health (ASH, 2007; Richardson (2001) argued that manual groups are likely to smoke heavier than the managerial groups and stated likely reason for this such as food insecurity, substitute for food, social environment, segregation and pressure, lack of good health and lack of confidence. In addition to this, epidemiology statistics reported by Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC, 2013 and Wanless, 2004) stated that smoking is more prevalent among the lower socio-economic groups and known to be key part of the disparities in life expectation between manual and non-manual groups. Therefore it is important something is done to eradicate inequality in the health of the general population.

This is through reducing the prevalence of smoking an its associated health, social and economic costs, and the inequality it can cause. The NTS offers a national framework, reflecting the best practices for tobacco control and combines past policy frameworks at state and territory, national and global levels. The NTS provides an overview of the impacts of tobacco use, outlines the shared goals, objectives and targets for tobacco control across government and non-government organisations for the next six years. The approach of this strategy involves from the continuation and successes from previous national tobacco strategies and continue national-wide approaches that have reduced smoking prevalence over the last four decades. Over the decades, Australia have instigated various policies which include; mass media campaigns, cessation services, health warnings on packaging, prohibitions on tobacco advertising, price increases and access to tobacco.

Having a chance to find literatures on the topic of health disparities in smoking cessation helps me in obtaining an in-depth understanding of how different populations having different health outcomes and behaviors that related to smoking cessation. All of these disparities could be attributed to various factors, which made me realize that everything happening around us causes by many reasons. Since I am interested in the topic of social inequalities, and what I would like to do is to learn about the correlation between these inequalities and its impact on human mental processes. This experience provides me a better sense of how disparities in smoking cessation impact our life, and why these disparities exist among smokers.

History has proven that government penalties, in the form of taxes, deter smoking. The 2000 U.S. Surgeon General’s Report, Reducing Tobacco Use, found that raising tobacco-product prices decreases the prevalence of tobacco use, and tobacco tax increases produce significant long-term improvements in health. From its review of existing research, the report concluded that raising tobacco taxes is one of the most effective tobacco prevention and control strategies (7). Along with price increases, mass-media campaigns and smoking bans have made cigarette smoking pretty much unacceptable in today’s society. “Today, approximately 22 percent of adults age twenty-two and older are smokers, compared with 33 percent in 1979” (Thorpe 1440). It is clear, from these examples, the use of penalties to deter the unhealthy behavior of smoking is a successful intervention.

Tobacco has existed for long as we have known about history, but due to the negative effects of it to the broader community Tobacco has sparked greater controversy across the globe. Many people argue that it is the government’s responsibility to protect the individual but on the contrary some disagree and believe it’s up to the individual. This essay will elaborate above mentioned aspects and lead to a logical conclusion.

The high mortality rates are the primary reason why many people are actively petitioning for the universal ban of tobacco. In a recent article published by the American Lung Association they found approximately 600 ingredients in cigarettes. When burned, they create more than 7,000 chemicals. Roughly 69 of those chemicals are known to be poisonous, cause cancer, and many other diseases. Tobacco usage accounts for more than 30% of

General public (civil society): In Canada, there are an estimated 45,000 smoking-related deaths each year. A majority of smokers are disproportionately from lower socio-economic brackets. In a Canadian research study, it was reported that 47% gave an anti-tobacco strategy a high priority. The public would influence decision makers and GPPNs to use denormalization and any other policy instruments to fight

Cigarettes are made from a variety of harmful substances. For starters, there are over 4000 chemicals in one single cigarette. Nicotine, Carbon Monoxide, and Arsenic are only three of the many poisonous structures within a single cigarette. These few things alone can already cause such damage.

Tobacco smoke is tremendously hurtful to your wellbeing. There's no protected approach to smoke. Supplanting your cigarette with a cigar, pipe, or hookah won't offer you some assistance with avoiding the wellbeing dangers connected with tobacco items. Cigarettes contain around 600 ingedients. When they smolder, they produce more than 7,000 chemicals, as indicated by the American Lung Association. A number of those chemicals are harmful and no less than 69 of them can bring about cancer. Some portion of the same ingredients are found in cigars and in tobacco utilized as a part of pipes and hookahs. As indicated by the National Cancer Institute, cigars have a larger amount of cancer-causing agents, poisons, and tar than cigarettes.

Smoking in the US is responsible for annual healthcare costs to the tune of $170 billion, with an extra $130 billion in lost productivity (CDC, Economics). Thus, by increasing taxation, the US government can both compensate for these financial damages, as well as potentially alleviate the burden itself by reducing the number of smokers contributing to annual loss (NPR). Alternatively, one could interpret increasing taxes on tobacco products as targeted strikes against populations with disproportionate tobacco use. For example, those living below the poverty line, or those with limited formal education smoke at rates almost double the general population (CDC, Fast Facts). This tax is reducing dangerous and costly behavior, to the benefit of the entire population - but it is simultaneously imposing additional financial burdens on already oppressed groups. While this is a far cry from the Nazi’s use of biopower to justify racial cleansing (Foucault 248), it can be a subtle reminder of how biopower can justify potentially problematic measures through otherwise well-intentioned