Cigarette smoking
Issue Overview
Cigarette smoking increases the likelihood of an array of health conditions, including diabetes, low birth weight in children, reproductive effects in women, asthma, and cancer, among other conditions. Some of the conditions associated with cigarette smoking, such as diabetes are a risk factor for other conditions. Moreover, direct cigarette smoking may result in passive smoking for non-smokers. There are an array of interventions pertinent to the prevention and reduction of the impact associated with cigarette smoking, but one of the recently recommended strategies is the use of the e-cigarette.
One of the main reasons for the establishment of the smoke shops is to reduce the impact tobacco products have on individual and community health. According to the Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Commission, Indiana spends roughly 1.3 billion in curbing health issues associated with second-hand smoke (Indiana Indicators Health, 2018). With the establishment of the smoke shops, it is anticipated that the exposure to second-hand smoke will reduce and the cost associated with the reduction in second-hand smoke exposure will be a 20% reduction. Within healthcare, such cost translates into approximately $0.26 billion. The cost of lost productivity and the non-medical cost is approximately 2.6 billion. The use of e-cigarette can result in minimizing the effects of direct cigarette smoking (Shahab et al., 2017). The efficiency of e-cigarette in reducing smoking is not well understood; there are arguments that the use of e-cigarette heightens chances of smoking cessation (Farrimond & Abraham, 2018).
Goals
To reduce the incidence of cigarette smoking and lower the health effects and costs associated with direct cigarette smoking.
Objective
- To reduce the number of cigarette smokers by 20% two years following the implementation of e-cigarette in Indiana.
- To reduce the health complications associated with cigarette smoking such as throat cancer by 15% two years following the implementation of the e-cigarette program.
- To reduce government expenditure on complications associated with cigarette smoking by 20% two years following the implementation of the e-cigarette program.
References
Indiana Indicators of Health. (2018). Health Dashboard. Retrieved from http://indianaindicators.org/dash/overview.aspx
Farrimond, H., & Abraham, C. (2018). Developing E-cigarette, friendly smoking cessation services in England: staff perspectives. Harm reduction journal, 15(1), 38.
Shahab, L., Goniewicz, M. L., Blount, B. C., Brown, J., McNeill, A., Alwis, K. U., … & West, R. (2017). Nicotine, a carcinogen, and toxin exposure in long-term e-cigarette and nicotine replacement therapy users: a cross-sectional study. Annals of internal medicine, 166(6), 390-400.
Unit 4 Discussion 2
There are an array of strategies for identifying stakeholders. One of the most direct strategies is brainstorming. Brainstorming entails shallow thinking and documentation of any idea that comes to mind (RABINOWITZ, 2015). Brainstorming can be conducted in unison whereby one sits with other colleagues who assist him or her in thinking of viable options. For instance, in my case, I can select a team who help me think of individuals who may be pertinent in the project’s implementation. Some imperative considerations in the course of brainstorming include learning from past and ongoing engagement, being forward-thinking, diverse, aware, and gender-sensitive.
The other useful strategy is stakeholder mapping. Stakeholder mapping is more useful when conducted following a brainstorm. Stakeholder mapping is a visual tool and a process to categorizing and classifying the different individuals thought to be potential stakeholders by drawing further insight to the different attributes of the individual such as their interest and the amount of power they possess. Stakeholder mapping is pertinent in the understanding of individuals and their potential impact on a project’s implementation. Some of the stakeholder mapping strategies include Stakeholder power/interest grid. The other strategy useful in the identification of potential stakeholder is interviewing experts. It is important to forge a relationship with individuals who might have implemented other projects in the past and inquire about their strategy in stakeholder identification. Apart from the insight the individuals might provide, they might also recommend other stakeholders.
Reference
RABINOWITZ, P. (2015). Section 8. Identifying and Analyzing Stakeholders and Their Interests.
Unit 4 Discussion 1: Theories, Models, and Surveys
Drug abuse is one of the most pressing issues in the U.S. it is an issue that is considered both as a cosmetic concern and has a detrimental impact both to an individual, their families and associates, and a nation as a whole. The issue of drug abuse is also a prominent concern in Indiana. With a specific focus on cigarette smoking, there is approximately 19% of the females and 23.3% of the males smokers in Indians. Due to the detrimental impact of cigarette smoking, it is imperative to deduce strategies that may help in reducing and preventing cigarette smoking in the identified region.
The selected theories for the survey are the transtheoretical model and the information processing paradigm. For the transtheoretical model, the survey questions should be focused on ensuring that the change progresses from the point of knowledge (Prochaska, Redding, & Evers, 2015). Though the most immediate step (precontempletation) is education provision to ensure that the affected individual has knowledge of the health impacts of the behaviours they indulge in towards the transition, the change should progress from the point of insight on some of the barriers towards positive transition. An example of a survey question that may be asked is “what are some of the barriers towards smoking cessation in the affected community?” In the information processing paradigm, the survey question should be geared towards some of the factors that may help persuade the community to change their smoking behaviour. An example of such a question can be “what are some of the best means of communicating with the community regarding the effects of cigarette smoking?”
References
Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020). Extinguishing the Tobacco Epidemic in Indiana. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/about/osh/state-fact-sheets/indiana/index.html
Prochaska, J. O., Redding, C. A., & Evers, K. E. (2015). The transtheoretical model and stages of change. Health behavior: Theory, research, and practice, 97.