Topic 1 DQ 2
Tobacco use among young adults has been a major challenge globally. Not only does it affect the individual users, but it has a great impact on the families, communities and healthcare systems. Scientific knowledge about the effects of tobacco use has increased gradually, and a report by Surgeon General revealed that more than 20 million Americans have died due to tobacco use. Tobacco use causes various chronic diseases which include reproductive effects, cancer, stroke, heart diseases, diabetes, and various lung diseases. The risks of tobacco do not end with the user but it affects the people within the smoking areas and exposure to secondhand smoke is not risk-free because people have died of diseases caused by secondhand smoke.
Preventing tobacco use is important because it is a preventable cause of the many deaths experienced in the United States. In the United States, 480, 000people die yearly of tobacco-related diseases and more than 16 million suffer from diseases related to tobacco use yearly. Healthy People 2020 have proposed ways in which the epidemic of tobacco use can be curbed. Increasing the of tobacco products is viewed as one way to reduce the consumption of tobacco. Countries should establish smoke-free policies to fight against tobacco use globally. Funding tobacco control programs is suggested by Healthy 2020 as a way that will prevent the use of tobacco by the American population.
The Guide to Community Preventive Services recognizes tobacco use as one of the major population-based threat in the United States and devises some strategies that should be used to control and prevent tobacco use. Prevention of initiation is among the strategy where the youths will be protected from tobacco use. Promotion programs to quit tobacco use should be strengthened. Also, exposure to secondhand smoke should be eliminated to ensure a healthy population. Lastly, identification of the tobacco-related disparities should happen so that tobacco use can be eliminated among the population.