Abstract
Tobacco use is considered as one of the major reasons of preventable death and disease in the United States. It is very much evident from a fact that an estimated 443,000 Americans lost their lives every year as a result of tobacco-related illnesses. Cigarette smoke has the presence of more than 4,800 chemicals, out of which 69 have the ability to cause cancer, while other chemicals can lead to heart diseases, stroke and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, HealthyPeople (2013) reported.
Exposure to second hand smoke is also very risky as it results in causing heart diseases and lung cancer in adults as well as several health-related issues in infants and children. There are several behavioral risk factors that influence the use of tobacco, such as age, education, race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status. There are many geographical disparities as well as that play a significant role in tobacco use, including dissimilarities among states in the areas of smoke-free protections, tobacco prices and funding for tobacco prevention, National Institute of Drug Abuse (July 2012) reported.
However, there has been a notable decline in the number of people who smoke since the release of the first Surgeon General’s report on tobacco in 1964 that explained the impact of tobacco use on health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2013) has argued. At the same time, it is very much essential to carry out interventions at the downstream, midstream and upstream stages.
Group and individual counselling at the downstream level can prove very productive as it helps in developing a quit plan, dealing with barriers and managing withdrawal symptoms and stress to prevent relapse. School-based youth prevention activities at the midstream level are very beneficial as it has been found that nearly 90% of adult smokers develop smoking habits at or before age 18, and the beginning of daily smoking usually starts in grades six through nine, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2013) reported. National public education/media campaigns at the upstream level can prevent the youth from starting consuming tobacco as well as lower its occurrence among youth.
Individual Resources
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (June 5, 2013). Adult Cigarette Smoking in the United States. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/adult_data/cig_smoking/
National Institute on Drug Abuse (July 2012). What Are the Extent and Impact of Tobacco Use? Retrieved from http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/tobacco-addiction/what-are-extent-impact-tobacco-use
HealthlyPeople.gov (November 13, 2013). Tobacco Use. Retrieved from http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topicsobjectives2020/overview.aspx?topicid=41
