Health people is a program under the office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion that provides 10-year national goals based on science and evidence to improve the health of all U.S. citizens. With this regard, the Healthy People 2020 was launched on December 2, 2010; it has for main goals aimed at improving the health status of the nation by 2020 and ensuring all Americans live long healthy lives (Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, 2017). One of the goals from the Healthy People 2020 that will have the greatest impact on my community is the first goal of attaining high-quality, longer lives that are free of preventable diseases, disability, injury and premature deaths. Under this broad goal, tobacco use is one of the focus areas in which the Healthy People 2020 aims at reducing illness, disability, and death associated with tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2016), the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States is cigarette smoking which accounts for approximately 480,000 every year. It is also estimated that as of 2015, more than 15% adults who are 18 years and above in the United States smoke cigarettes. Moreover, my community of West Virginia State has the highest rates of adult cigarette smoking which is more than 26% compared to other states which have as low as only 9% (Peters, 2016). Therefore, the efforts of Healthy People 2020 to end tobacco use epidemic by employing various methods such as enacting inclusive smoke-free policies, tobacco products price increase as well as funding tobacco use cessation programs will by far help in preventing tobacco use (Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, 2017). As a result, the health status and quality of life for West Virginia State residents will improve.
In order to make my community healthier, the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources focuses on advocating for the management and prevention of chronic diseases (State of West Virginia, 2017). For example, The Division of Health Promotion and Chronic Disease (HPCD) advocates for walking as a means for regular physical activity in order to address the issue of rising rates of obesity and diabetes among the residents.
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2016). CDC - Fact Sheet - Current Cigarette Smoking Among Adults in the United States - Smoking & Tobacco Use. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/adult_data/cig_smoking/
Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (2017). Tobacco Use | Healthy People 2020. Retrieved from https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/tobacco-use
Peters, S. (2016). States with the most smokers. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2016/06/18/states-most-smokers/85983252/
