The Relationship Between Smoking And Disadvantage

There is no doubt that there is a prevalence of substance abuse throughout several age groups. To a certain extent, a society is faced with the reality of controlling substance abuse. Or allow it run rampant throughout the community. Often times, we hear and read about the level of substance abuse among teen, young adults and mid-aged

The smoking cessation was witnessed by the author throughout her placement. This was used on a daily basis in the community by district nurses, health visitors, but especially by the general practice nurses as being incorporated in each consultation in the form of advices, leaflets, smoking cessation programs including medication and follow-ups.

According to the Australian Government Department of Health website (2013), The National Tobacco Campaign (NTC) is a nationally recognised health promotion movement (provided under the organisation QuitNow Australia and launched by the Australian Department of Health and Ageing in 2011) aimed at providing smokers with the appropriate motivation and support aimed at achieving adequate behaviour change regarding addictive (tobacco use) behaviours (Department of Health and Ageing, 2012). It is also considered the highest evaluated national health promotion campaign in Australia due to its accomplished rates in producing successful behaviour change, the ability

A broad range of medical and psychological therapies is currently available for people who struggle with substance addictions. The scientific community is working on evaluation of various treatments to determine which strategies offer the best chances of successful outcome. People who need treatment for alcoholism and drug use are very diverse group. Addiction is a disorder that requires an individual case approach; therefore, different ways to

It is estimated that half of all smokers die from diseases related to the consumption of tobacco and live an average of ten to fifteen years less than non-smokers.

There are various politico-economic elements and policies; environmental and employment conditions; social and cultural influences and lifestyle of indigenous Australians which affect their health. Above all, there is poverty which contributes towards their poor health circumstances (Australian Indigenous Health InfoNet, 2014). The Indigenous Australians are powerless and generally face various kinds of deprivation that includes exclusion, material deprivation and unavailability of opportunities for study and employment. They are not capable enough to take part in society: socially, politically and culturally (Public Health Association of Australia, 2001). It is a general concept that when a person does not feel secure, is unemployed, not connected to his/her friends

Smoking is recognised as the largest single preventable cause of death and disease in Australia. It is associated with an increased risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer, emphysema, bronchitis, asthma, renal disease and eye disease. Tobacco contains the powerfully addictive stimulant nicotine, which can make smoking a regular and long-term habit that is not easy to quit (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2014). Statistics show

Regardless of consumer belief, smoking dramatically increases the chances of contracting many diseases - such as heart disease or high blood pressure. Although not every user experiences these diseases, it is well known that smoking can decrease one’s life time dramatically. The information given states, “It’s virtually impossible to escape the effects of tobacco” (Jordan). This stated, Jordan expresses that essentially if you use tobacco, there is a fairly high chance that one will damage his/her body in some way. Furthermore, there are many more diseases that can be contracted and the ones stated are only the most common. Continuing, the author explains the affects of smoking, “Expose to specific elements of secondhand smoke causes blood clot more easily and damages arterial lining” (Jordan). As stated, certain components in tobacco increase the chances of high blood pressure and blood clots to form in the body. Concluding, respiratory problems in young children can occur through second hand smoking, these include asthma. Children that asthma effect increases from smoke, “Asthma turns out to be about twice as common in children exposed to high levels of second hand smoke” (Secondhand Smoke: Is it a Hazard). Not only does tobacco smoke increase other diseases, it also increases the severity of diseases already contracted as shown in the previous quote. To conclude, tobacco smoke

This is essentially why the Council of Australia created a partnership between all levels of Government, to work with the aboriginal communities to ‘close the gap. In 2012, the “close the gap” campaign, managed by Mr Justin Mohamed chair of the NACCHO, stated that the smoking rate of aboriginals is at 47% and in 2013 the ‘close the gap’ campaign has activities in place such as “Develop Regional Implementation”, which “cut down smoking by 20%” of those over the age of 15 who smoke. This has decreased the chance of cancer and lowers mortality rates and is slowly closing the gap between indigenous and non-indigenous men and women of Australia. The new anti-smoking campaign for 2016 was released on the 2nd of May, which looks at smoking in all Australian people and has also included advertisements with indigenous people talking about their aim to be healthy and give up smoking and not to become a statistic. According to the Victorian Health Department, indigenous people over the age of 15, are “2.8 times more likely to be daily smokers” (Healthgovau, 2016)than any

The health of the Australian Indigenous Population is a significant domain in Australia that represents a myriad of issues that affects the integrity of Indigenous Australians as the traditional owners of the land. On the contrary, these issues challenge the validity of Australia as a nation committed to closing the gap between health outcomes of Indigenous Australians in comparison to non-Indigenous Australians.

“Smoking rates have halved in Australians over the past 30 years, falling below 16%. Except for in Indigenous populations, smoking rates have remained at more than twice this level, with even higher rates reported in remote communities” (RACGP, 2013) The inequality that has been faced by Indigenous people is still at an unacceptable level, and has “been identified as a human rights concern by the United Nations” (Dick, 2007). Smoking is a major issue because, “it is the most preventable contributor to the gap in life expectancy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples” (Ivers, 2011). “Smoking contributes to 17% of the life expectancy gap” (Australian Government: Department for Health and Welfare, 2011). The socio-economic disadvantage faced by Indigenous people leads to the addiction of tobacco, which can be caused by many factors including; their position on the social gradient, education, social exclusion, their employment status and their social support. There is a lack of developed personal skills on the health risks of tobacco, “some Aboriginals don’t identify smoking as a health issue” (Korff, 2014), due to the history of Aboriginal people around smoking. As well as first hand smoke, passive smoking also contributes to poor health, especially for children. Smoking is the major cause for heart disease, stroke, some cancers, lung diseases and a variety of other conditions (HealthInfoNet.ecu.edu.au, 2013). “If we could reduce tobacco consumption levels

There are many contributing factors and political issues that address substance abuse. Throughout the years, many researchers have designed many interventions and social policies designed to treat people who have used, abused, and became addicted to substances. Today, there are many new studies that address substance abuse at the individual, group, family, and community or policy levels. Today, there are many services that are effective for decreasing recidivism in youth who have completed a substance abuse program. A substance abuse treatment program or center is the best way to treat individuals who have abused substances.

This report will focus how smoking tobacco can result in individuals with poor health and wellbeing outcomes. The report with the first overview of the Victorian public health and wellbeing plan 2015-2019, outlining how the determinants of health can influence at-risk population groups. Afterwards, one of the priority area, tobacco-free living, will be selected along with the two at-risk groups, those who are lower on the social gradient ladder and Aboriginal Victorians, then one at-risk group will be analysed with three different determinants describing why they are experiencing poorer health and wellbeing outcomes.

Smoking prevalence has declined in the UK population from 27% in 2000 to 16.9% in 2015 (ONS, 2016), however, these reductions have not been mirrored in all parts of society. Smoking prevalence in prisons has remained intractably high (60-80%) and is two to three times greater than in the general population (Singleton et al., 1999; Lester et al., 2003; Papadodima at al., 2009). The harmful effects of tobacco, including second-hand smoke, are widely reported (WHO, 2008; US Department of Health and Human Services, 2006; SCOTH, 2004) and are the leading cause of preventable deaths in the UK (Murray et al., 2013).

This article focuses on critical evaluation of tobacco control policies in Australia. Based on previous studies,