Strategies To Address Smoking Among Young Male Adults Between Ages Of 25-29 Years

Prevalence of Smoking among Young Male Adults

You are required to investigate and report on prevention strategies that could be used to address ? “Smoking in males 25-29 years”.

Previous global surveys indicate that smoking is a worldwide practice as over 945 and 176 million of both adult men and women are active the users, and is expected to increase in future (Brath et al., 2016). Countries such as China, India Bangladesh, and the United States record the highest number of smokers globally. However, developing countries such as Ethiopia, South Africa, and many others, comprises about 73% of the global smokers (Gianino et al., 2017). The rate of smoking has resulted into a high number of preventable deaths globally, for example, 80,000 deaths in England, 2,300 deaths in Northern Ireland, and 13,500 Scotland deaths were attributed to smoking in 2014 (Kaleta et al.,2015).  The high rate of smoking increases the number of smoking-related diseases such as cardiovascular disease and cancer that leads to high percentages of hospitalization of young males  in various countries and has made smoking global health hazard (Jawad et al., 2018). For example, about 1.7 million admissions as in England in 2014-2015 were attributed to smoking that eventually led to the high percentage of premature deaths.

 These deaths result into high economic costs to the respective countries, for example in the United Kingdom, smoking about $ 5.2 billion in 2005-2006 in treating smoking-related diseases and this has negative impacts on both the economic and social well being of a country (Feirman et al., 2016). Therefore it is upon every country’s government, public, and private organizations to place strategies to address smoking habit as well as avoiding the high mortality and mobility rate (Kollins et al., 2013). This paper thus investigates and reports strategies that could be used to address the high, increasing rate of male smokers between the ages of 25-29 years. The strategies will cover three different levels that are upstream, middle stream and downstream among the affected.

The demographic distribution of smokers ranges from adolescents to adults, with highest smokers being the adults. Research indicates that smoking prevalence increases from 12 years old with averagely 6 %  among the 15 -18 years old, 12% among the 18 years old ,15% among the 20 years old, 22% among 25-29 years old and then dropping to 18 % among the old adults (Baker & Chang, 2016). Smoking habit begins at childhood stages and establishes during adolescence, with about 9 out of 10 smokers say that first experience was between the age of 18 -19 years and advance with age, increasing the risk factors too, thus quitting also becomes difficult.

Factors Contributing to Smoking among Young Male Adults

To be able to identify the best strategies that can be used to address smoking among the males between ages of 25-29 years, various factors that attribute to the adoption of smoking habits among the men must be identified (Dusseldorp et al., 2014). These include social and physical environments such as media advertisements on tobacco use as a regular activity, surrounding and influences by peers and the parental nature of smoking.  Biological and genetic factors such as smoking during pregnancy increase the likelihood of the child being a smoker in future. Lower socioeconomic status such as lack of enough education and income, mental health such as depression, anxiety, and stress, inadequate support from the parents and accessibility of the tobaccos are also some significant contributors.

Most of the strategies used tend to target the risks and protective factors buttressed by psychological, sociological, ecological, and educational theories attempts to change the use behaviors. Several methods and models have been developed to address smoking such as the Theory of Triadic Influence: that encompasses on the development of smoking behaviors that are integrated into two dimensions, that are causative and a stream of influence. The TTI base on the assumptions that variable and theories are into their different stream, that is: upstream, middle stream and downstream.

Clinical Intervention Strategie

Healthcare providers are in the best positions of helping the young male adults between the age 25-29 in preventing the smoking initiation and quitting from smoking. Several national guidelines developed by various health organizations such as American Medical Association recommend that all the young adults visit healthcare services to receive confidential preventive measures as the addicts are rehabilitated. One of the suggested methods that aimed at delivering brief tobacco-related and cessation services was known as the “5 A’s” model (Martinez, 2017). The model had five steps that are Asking the patient whether he/she uses tobacco, Advising the patient who smokes to quit the habit. Assessing the patient’s (smokers) willingness to quit smoking, Assisting the willing patient to quit by counseling, conducting pharmacotherapy and providing appropriate referrals and Arranging a follow-up a program through telephone calls and home visits.

 Nurse-family partnership program is also  a healthcare intervention that aims at addressing both the social and health needs of the smokers. It is evidential that male between the ages is the economic core of every country and therefore, the high efficiency of smoking on the age set has paramount negatives results in the economic status.  This program is mostly applicable to individuals and family that have low incomes. The nurses always paid home visits to such individuals to enhance their economic self-efficiency that is a significant factor leading to the adoption of behavioral risks such as smoking. The nurses bring together all the family and relatives of the addicts and advise them on ways they can assist the victim in combating the smoking habit. 

Strategies to Address Smoking among Young Male Adults

Smoking Bans and Restrictions Strategy

Smoking bans and restrictions are constituted policies that entirely ban or regulate the consumption of tobacco products in various countries and places such as public and private areas (Lunze & Luigi, 2013). The smoking policies are highly recommended since they tend to reduce the exposure of hence decreasing the consumption, for example, increasing the prices of tobacco (Henry, 2013). The United States has raised the excise taxes for more than 100 times to control the use of the and create pure public health. For example, the in August 2011 United States and other districts of Columbia imposed an excise tax on cigarettes that hiked from &0.17 per pack to $ 4.35 per pack (Salloum, Asfar & Maziak, 2016). Economic principles indicate that as the real price of a good increase, then consumption of the product tends to fall and the cigarette is not an exception as noted in the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Many of the researchers show that there is a high probability of quitting smokes among adults concerning the increase in prices.

Mass Media Campaign Strategy

It is evidential that a large number of the males are accessible to social media platforms that are the primary tools for product marketing. Some of the men initiate the smoking habit through observing the advertisements that are very enticing; therefore, it is upon these same social media to help in combating the rate of smoking prevalence. The message contents created through formative research and dissemination tends to warn on the health dangers make the individual gain self-awareness and rethink of the decisions of continue smoking ( Boynton  et al.,2016). For example in the united state televisions aired antismoking messages in 1967 after the Federal Communications Commission ruled that fairness doctrine to apply to cigarettes too. The exposure of the informative words was associated with reduced level smoking in adults and is still applicable in some countries through the anti-smoking ads on televisions ceased after Congress banned advertising on the media.

Uses of school-based campaigns to create awareness have also been effective in reducing the rate of tobacco consumption in various countries. These awareness campaigns help the male adults between ages 25-29 to resist peer pressure and know both the long and short-term effects such as cardiovascular disease and bad breaths. Such campaigns have been applied in various countries such as California when messages such as “think, don’t smoke” were designed to portray tobacco industries as deceptive and manipulative to both youths and adults (Mussener et al., 2016). The example in California, the use of Community Intervention Trial   for Smoking Cessation (COMMIT) that was created  to reduce the prevalence of smoking among adults and increase quitting among  adult smokers and was effective.

Healthcare Provider’s Interventions

Community Intervention Strategy

The high rate of smoking prevalence in males of 25-29 years are mostly based on the social influence, and therefore the development of community intervention to reach all the members of the age group to spread the non-smoking habit (Franck et al.,2016). Such interventions aim at a group of people that share the same geographical or common interests that support non-smoking behaviors and include practices such as smoke-free public places, clean Indoors Air laws, and age-of-purchase laws. Several studies show that restrictive rules in private and public areas were effective strategies for reducing smoking among the youths and young adults.

Conclusion

It is evidential that smoking is more prevalent among males than females and increases with the increase of age, having the highest level at the age of 25-29, the dropping among the old adults. This makes the interventions designed to combat smoking to e entirely focused on the young male adults, as they are the most prevalent. Such interventions include the use of international, national and government policies such as excise duty on tobacco products. From the previous researchers, increase in the tobacco product’s prices tends to reduce the rate of initiation of the smoking amount the young adult as well as reducing the purchasing power that eventually helps in managing smoking prevalence.

Others include community programs, clinical interventions and mass media campaign, that all aim at creating health hazards awareness of smoking and improving the addicts to quit the habit. Use of mass media in educating the entire public have a positive effect on the rate of cigarette consumption as many young adults become enlightened on the health hazards of tobacco products. Finally, a well-coordinated community program is capable of reducing smoking rate among the male of between 25-29. However, no single strategy is capable of elevating the young adults from the smoking habit, and therefore, a blend of these strategies will be more effective.

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Nurse-Family Partnership Program

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