Essay Example on Tobacco Consumption: A Global Health Crisis Killing Millions

The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified tobacco as the only largest preventable health risk. Tobacco dependence disorder is the most significant cause of illnesses and premature human fatalities. Tobacco consumption is estimated to cause nearly 480,000 deaths in America, driving cancer societies, networks, and organizations to collaborate in the fight against its consumption (Robbins, 2018). In the European Union (EU), tobacco is projected to cause close to 700,000 fatalities every year (Willemsen, 2018). Research has revealed that twenty-six percent of the EU total population are smokers, with twenty-nine percent of them comprising youths between fifteen and twenty-four years.

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The former president of America- Barack Obama, brought to law the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act in the year 2009. The law gave the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inclusive supremacy to control production, distribution as well as retailing of tobacco. The Act is the most comprehensive achievement in reducing consumption what remains to be the topmost avoidable cause of fatalities in the United States (Robbins, 2018).

The European Union and national governments have also enacted several tobacco control legislations as well as anti-tobacco campaigns. For instance, the EU Council on June 1st, 2004, approved the WHO's Convention Framework on the control of tobacco consumption. This convention was the first of all global health agreements. It offered a basis for member countries to formulate and implement comprehensive laws on tobacco control. The EU legislation as a result of the treaty are banning tobacco advertisement; regulating tobacco production including ingredients, packaging, and labeling; establishment of smoke-free spaces at work and public places; promotion and sponsoring ex-tobacco users and introduction of tax measures to minimize consumption of tobacco. The agreement also committed the member countries to shield their tobacco control legislation from the interests of the tobacco industry (Willemsen, 2018).

Tobacco control laws in the United States are strengthened by tobacco deterrence and termination fund and excise taxes on tobacco. The fund supports ex-tobacco users in the process of rehabilitation, while the taxes deter the use of tobacco due to reduced purchasing power for the substance. The strengths of tobacco control laws in the EU include support from health legislation, bans on illicit tobacco trade, high taxes on tobacco, and complementary goods like cigarette lighters. Tobacco laws and legislations in both United States and European Union are weakened by emergence on new forms of the substance like heated tobacco products, smokeless tobacco products, and flavored tobacco that are not well covered in the current laws.

Social determinants of health such as exposure, income, social class, and age have a significant impact on tobacco consumption. In fact, research revealed a statistically significant relationship between tobacco consumption and wealth index, age, income, sex, early exposure, education level, and alcohol use. Men report seven times higher odds of tobacco use relative to women. Alcohol users are three times more likely to be current smokers compared to those who do not take alcohol (World Health Organization, 2019).

Tobacco dependence disorder is the largest global public health threat and continues to affect the health of the global population. For instance, the epidemic kills over eight million people every year in the world. Over seven million of the fatalities result from active consumption of tobacco, while nearly one million occur due to exposure to passive tobacco smoke. Eighty percent of the world's 1.1 billion tobacco consumers are from low- and middle-income states, where the burden of smoke-related diseases and fatalities is highest (World Health Organization, 2019). The economic implication of the disorder is increased poverty as users divert household expenditure from basics like food, clothing, education, and shelter to tobacco. It becomes difficult to change the spending pattern as tobacco is very addictive.

Tobacco smoke contains over seven thousand chemicals, including Polonium-210 and Arsenic, which cause heart diseases and cancer. In developed countries where tobacco consumption is associated with lifestyle, smoking causes ninety and seventy percent of lung cancer in men and women, respectively. Smoking has been reported to increase respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses by 56-70 percent in developing countries (World Health Organization, 2019).

The role of nurses in the two countries will be similarly affected by tobacco use epidemic though at different magnitudes. Tobacco use, if not effectively regulated, will cause an increase in chronic illnesses like cancers of various kinds, respiratory infections, and heart diseases. These diseases call for more nurses and longer hours of caregiving at a time when the two countries are experiencing a shortage of nurses. The effects will be felt by the nurses, patients, as well as healthcare facilities. The health caregivers will be forced to work for long hours, and due to fatigue, the quality of health care will decline. Healthcare facilities will be forced to stretch their resources and equipment to attend to the high number of patients.

The current nationally formulated tobacco control legislations have not had a significant change in regulating consumption and, thus, the effects. Going forward, it is imperative for countries to convene an international panel for tobacco consumption control. The panel will lay down internationally determined policies that can be customized for all participating countries to arrive at workable laws that can transform the narrative of tobacco consumption worldwide.

References

Robbins, R. A. (2018). Tobacco Company Campaign Contributions and Congressional Support of Tobacco Legislation. Southwest Journal of Pulmonary and Critical Care, 16, 232.

Willemsen, M. C. (2018). The International Context: EU and WHO. In Tobacco Control Policy in the Netherlands (pp. 145-164). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.

World Health Organization. (2019). Don't let tobacco take your breath away: choose health, not tobacco: 31 May, World tobacco day (No. WHO/NMH/PND/2019.3). World Health Organization.