Category: Smoking

Research Question

Research Question

Regarding the research question, various questions can form the basis of this research. In this light, the research might seek to determine the prevalence of smoking among employees and employers. Secondly, it might seek to determine the influx of customers before and after the legislation. Therefore, two questions revolve around it. The fir question seeks to know whether there is a change in the prevalence of smoking among employers and employees. Secondly, another question could seek to determine whether there are any changes in the number of customers visiting the business after the legislation.

Prior Research

Unlike New South Wales, Kenya carried out research determining the effect of similar legislation on employees and employers. The researchers discovered that the legislation reduced the prevalence of smoking among employees and employers. In this case, the employers argued that they considered quitting as a way of setting a good example. On the other hand, employees suggested that they had difficult moments when balancing the program with the sudden urge to smoking. In this case, they argued that they could not compromise their jobs for smoking. Consequently, many employees chose to quit the behavior. Ninety percent of the employees depicted a change in the number of customers visiting their business after legislation. They argued that the smoking culture among the employees destabilized customers and lowered the customers’ preference for their business (Peter 456).

Problem

The legislation focuses on the whole population in New South Wales. In the population, we have employees and employers. They are entitled to professional and business ethics. However, researchers have focused on the effect of this legislation on the general public only. Regrettably, they have neglected research on the effect of the legislation on the employees and employers.

Establishments and Unresolved Issues

The purpose of this paper is to establish research that will settle the unresolved issues. In this light, failure to conduct research focusing on the employees and employers has created an unresolved research gap. Consequently, this research seeks to understand the effects of legislation on this unique segment of the population.

Sampling Frame, Size, and Problems

Sampling Frame

Before sampling, the researcher must identify the target population. The target population is the number of people relevant to research (Cochran 218). In this research, the target population will be the employees and employers of various companies. The research will have four data sets. These data sets will include professional employers, casual employers, professional employees, and casual employees.

Sampling Method and Size

In this light, it will be done using the method of random purposive sampling. This method has two crucial components. First, it collects the samples in a random manner ensuring that the sample is not biased (Jha 432). Therefore, the sample is not collected in a manner that seeks to favor some predetermined results. Secondly, the methods incorporate a purposive element. This implies the consideration of a sample that is relevant to the research (Thompson 655). Consequently, the chosen companies must have existed before and after the legislation.

Regarding the sample size, the research will consider a given percent of the professional companies. Similarly, it will consider the proportion of informal companies. Additionally, it will involve 1000 data points of the total population incorporating the employees and employers. This percentage will provide reliable information since the sample will be collected randomly.

Sampling Problems

The research might face various problems during sampling. First, identifying the relevant sample will pose a serious challenge to them. In this case, it will be difficult to identify the smoking employees and employers. Besides, the researcher will have difficulties while identifying the cooperative respondent. In this light, some respondents might be secretive due to their privacy (Jha 412).

Administration and Fieldwork Decisions

The research will carry out detailed interviews with the respondents. The interview will be administered through phone calls and physical confrontation. Regarding the physical administration of the questionnaire, it will be quite costly owing to the complex logistics involved. These logistics include requesting permission, transport, and others. Also, the method is time-consuming since the companies might take a lot of time before responding to their requests. However, the method is reliable since the researcher will be sure of interviewing the required respondent. On the other hand, using phone calls is efficient and cost-effective. Also, it saves on time significantly. This ensures that the research does not take a lot of time.

On the other hand, there is a possibility of interviewing the wrong people. Besides, some respondents might have switched off their phones. This implies that the interview might not take place (Peter, 2006). However, the interviewer will not call the respondents during office hours. Lastly, some companies might retain phone numbers owing to the privacy policy of their employees. As a result, the interview might not proceed. For both methods, some respondents might not turn up due to personal reasons. In that case, the interviewers must record the irregularity. This irregularity should be recorded in the field book. If there are many non-respondent, the researchers will embark on the sampling procedure.

The interviewer team will be recruited by the ministry of environment. This recruitment will be based on professional qualifications. The recruitment will be announced publicly to avoid corruption which can compromise the professional credibility of the research. The applicants will be interviewed and recruited. In this case, applicants must have a diploma or a degree in the statistical method. Moreover, applicants with a similar qualification in related courses will be considered. After recruitment, the interviewer team will be answerable to the Human Resource Manager.

The questionnaires will be stored in an orderly manner ensuring that they do not develop confusion. In this light, the questionnaires will be arranged according to the data sets. There are four data sets in this research. Therefore, each interviewer will have four files. After administering the questionnaires, they should keep them in the corresponding file. To facilitate the arrangement the files will be coded according to the regions of respondents. This implies that the zip codes will be attached to the files.

Each of the questions will take one minute. The researcher will have two minutes of self-introduction. Also, the respondents will take two minutes of introduction. Each question will take approximately one minute. The respondent will be added two minutes to give additional information and make a conclusion. However, the researcher might choose to extend the time according to situations that surround the interview.

Questionnaire

Description of Questionnaire

Validity and reliability of the results is an essential factor. Therefore, the questionnaires will ensure that these factors are met. In this light, the research cannot rely on the memory of the researcher owing to memory loss. Therefore, various instruments and tools will be used for the collection and analysis of the collected information. In this light, the research will use questionnaires when collecting data. In this case, the questionnaires will be flexible. This implies that they allow researchers to change their content to accommodate themes that arise during the research (Bulmer, Vaus, and Fielding 304). Also, it allows the removal of irrelevant themes that might have been included during the research proposal. This will ensure that the research does not leave out some necessary information that could aid in the analysis and conclusion.

Also, most questions will be open-ended to ensure that the respondents give enough information concerning the effects of this legislation. As a result, the questions will allow the respondent to give additional information on the legislation. Afterward, additional information will be analyzed. Consequently, the relevant themes will be included in subsequent interviews. This ensures that the researcher capture enough data for the analysis. However, researchers need to control the respondent. This ensures that they do not waste time on irrelevant information.

Also, the questionnaires will include closed questions. These questions will have multiple choices. The respondents will tick the appropriate answer. The choices will include a null choice. This choice will show that the question does not apply to the respondent. During, the research the respondents might omit some questions. This can result in missing data. In this light, the analysis will be difficult and impossible. Therefore, the questions will be written in bold letters. This will ensure that the respondents can see the questions. During the survey, the interviewers will approach the respondents during their free time. Alternatively, the researcher will ask for permission from the administration. This ensures that the respondents answer the questions freely.

Research Questionnaire

Section A: Personal Information

• Name
• Gender
• Company
• Department
• Period of Work
• Date

Section B: Employers’ Questions

• How long has your company operated?
• How many employees does the company have?
• How many employees smoke?
• What is the level of addiction for smokers?

1. 1. Slight
   2. Normal
   3. Severe

• Where do the smokers smoke from?

1. 1. Outside Business
   2. Inside the Business

• Personally, do you smoke?

1. 1. Yes
   2. No

• What feeling can leads to smoking?

1. 1. Frustration
   2. Stress
   3. Financial constraints

• What factors have contributed to the reduction in the level of smoking in your organization?

1. 1. External (e.g. force from family members, and financial constraints among others)
   2. Internal(e.g. force from the employer, force from fellow employees, and force from customers among others)

• What main effects did the legislation bring to the organization about smoking?

1. 1. Social (e.g. improved social interactions, good working environment, and reduced conflict between employers and employees)
   2. Economical (e.g. saving on money, and financial independence among others)

• In case you smoke, what difficulties do you meet with your employees and customers?

1. 1. Managerial
   2. Personal
   3. Administrative

• Do you have intentions to quit smoking on the face of legislation?

1. 1. Yes
   2. No

• Has the legislation reduced the number of employees smoking?

1. 1. Yes
   2. No

Section 3: Employees’ Questions

• How has the legislation affected your smoking behavior?

1. 1. Positively
   2. Negatively

• Do you have the intention of quitting?

1. 1. Yes
   2. No

• How has the new legislation affected the level of customers’ influx?

1. 1. Increment
   2. Decrement

• What will be the overall effect of this legislation regarding your fellow employees?

• Other than legislation, what other factors led to quitting?

1. 1. Financial inability
   2. Pressure from friends
   3. Health problems

• What feeling made you smoke?

1. 1. Frustrations
   2. Employers’ force
   3. Stress
   4. Family problems

• Kindly, provide other information regarding the effect of this legislation on the employees?

Your participation has been appreciated.

Validity and Reliability of Questionnaires

The use of flexible questionnaires ensures that the arising themes are incorporated into the research (Kirk and Miller 198). This means that the research will not seek for the considered information only. Instead, it will be flexible and elastic in accordance with the prevailing situations. It will allow the addition of themes emanating during the interviews. Therefore, the research will be reliable and credible.

Also, the questionnaires will include sensitive questions. For example, the questions will not ask for the age of respondents. Instead, it will inquire about the respondents’ birthday. As a result, the respondents will answer the questions freely and in the right manner.

Data Analysis

In this case, qualitative and quantitative analysis will be considered. The analysis will be done parallel to data collection. This will ensure that researchers can modify the questionnaires to accommodate arising themes and discard the irrelevant ones. The recruited team will be divided into two groups. The first group will collect data while the second group will be analyzing the data. Then, the analysts will give feedback to the interviewer at intervals. The feedback will contain a recommendation for inclusion and exclusion of themes. This will help the interviewers to modify the questionnaires to ensure that the research is wholesome. In this light, it will ensure that all the relevant information is considered for the research. Also, the information from the four data sets will be analyzed differently. In this case, the analysts will be divided into four groups. Each group will analyze their data set. Afterward, they will present the results on the same platform and make comparisons. This will ensure the harmonization of the differences and maintenance of the similarities.

Regarding quantitative analysis, the research will consider a bivariate variable that will focus on the number of employers and employees who are smoking recently. Then, it will consider the second data set that will focus on the number of employees who quitted smoking. The analysis will be based on the correlation between the number of employees and employers on both data sets. It will seek to understand the relationship between the smoking behavior of the employers and that of one of the employees.

Opportunities for Triangulation

The USA has advanced in their legal experience and legislation. Also, it has made legislation against smoking. Researchers have performed research on the effect of legislation on the employees and employers. Therefore, the results will be compared with the USA result. In this light, the similarities that will be perceived from the two types of research will validate this research. In case of differences, the researcher will account for them. This account will aim at determining the omissions that might have occurred. Besides, I will determine the strengths and weaknesses of both types of research.

Works Cited

Bulmer, Martin, D. Vaus, and Nigel Fielding. Questionnaires. London: Sage Publications, 2004. Print.

Cochran, William G. Sampling techniques. New York: Wiley, 1977. Print.

Jha, N. K. Research methodology. Chandigarh: Abhishek Publications, 2008. Print.

Kirk, Jerome, and Marc L. Miller. Reliability and validity in qualitative research. Beverly Hills: Sage Publications, 1986. Print.

Peter, K. Research agenda on population and development in Kenya. Nairobi: National Coordinating Agency for Population and Development, 2006. Print.

Thompson, Steven. Sampling. New York: Wiley, 1992. Print.

Majority of the side effects that substance abusers experience result form the various components that make up the substance. Cigarette, as one of such substances, has a variety of constituents that range from “nicotine, tar, carbon monoxide, and hydrogen cyanide” (Shopland, 1998, p. 93). Nicotine is a highly venomous and addictive substance absorbed through the mucous membrane in the mouth as well as alveoli in the lungs. A single puff of smoke moves faster to the brain increasing the amount of dopamine thereby causing satisfaction and relaxation of muscles. The acetylcholine receptors in brain increase mental stimuli suppressing appetite.

As a result, a “feeling good” atmosphere is created. Another component is Carbon monoxide, an odorless gas that has 210 more times higher affinity for human hemoglobin than oxygen. Its presence in the blood forms carboxyhemoglobin, the body lacks enough oxygen to function normally. Thirdly, tar, a brown sticky substance still in cigarettes, discolors teeth and fingernails. It contains lethal chemicals, which trigger cancer development such as carcinogen benzopyrene. Lastly, Hydrogen cyanide is another toxic chemical in cigarette that destroys the cleaning system of the lungs. It damages the lung’s tiny cilia (hairs) used for removing foreign particles hence leading to the accumulation of poisonous chemicals.

According to Sukhraj (2007), smoking increases the levels of carbon dioxide in the blood (p. 5). For instance, when breathing in, oxygen passes through nostrils to the epithelium wall of the alveoli where it is absorbed into the blood. At the same time, carbon dioxide is expelled from the blood into the alveoli back into the nostrils, as breathing out takes place. Smoking destroys the alveoli, the air sacs where gaseous exchange takes place leading to reduced elasticity of the blood vessels, which unswervingly impairs the gas transfer. Therefore, the body holds high amount of carbon dioxide and does not take in enough oxygen needed for the tissues.

Smoking affects a variety of organs leave alone the lungs. According to the National Digestive Diseases information Clearinghouse (2006), smoking, not only affects the respiratory system, but also “…the heart, the circulatory system, reproductive system as well as the immune system” (Para.5). The toxics in smoke affect the immune system thus hindering the performance of white blood cells, which play a major role in skirmishing germs, pathogens and diseases. In the reproductive system, it causes erectile dysfunction amongst men, infertility as well as miscarriages and premature deliveries in women. Infants usually report low birth weights.

There exist a positive correlation between cellular respiration and respiratory system. The two processes use oxygen. According to Chira (2010), cellular respiration is the process of oxidizing food molecules, like glucose, to carbon dioxide and water (p.61). Cellular respiration consumes oxygen producing carbon dioxide in the process of the production of energy. Oxygen plays a critical role when it comes to the transport energy to the body tissues. In the respiratory system, oxygen inhaled through the nostrils to the alveoli, circulates into the blood capillaries entering the red blood cells. At the same time, carbon dioxide diffuses into the alveoli from where it goes out through the ventilation process (Davies & Moores, 2003, p. 3) thus carbon dioxide becomes a product in both exhalation and inhalation processes.

As Koop (2004) observes, smokeless cigarettes appeared in the market in 1985 (p.616). He further argues that they are not that safe because they still contain carnogenic components such as tar and nicotine. To some extent, however, smokeless cigarettes or electron cigarettes have reduced risks of acquiring smoke related diseases. They do not emit smoke, which consists of incombustible gases whose effects are dire mostly causing respiratory diseases.

References

Chira, D. (2010). Human Biology. Burlington: Jones and Barlett Learning.

Davies, D., & Moores, C. (2003). The Respiratory system. Elsevier Health Sciences: Philadelphia.

Koop, E. (2004). Reducing the Health Consequences of smoking: 25 Years of Progress. Atlanta: Diane Publishing.

National Digestive Diseases information Clearinghouse. (2006). Smoking and Your Digestive Health. The US: US Department of Health & Human Sciences.

Shopland, D. (1998).Cigars: Health Effects and trends. Diane publishing Darby PA.

Sukhraj, D. (2007). Cigarette Smoking: What it’s doing to Smokers and Nonsmokers. North Carolina: PPI Publishing Company.

Introduction

Smoking is a common trend among teenagers, which includes smoking both classic cigarettes and vaping disposables. Smoking is a severe public health threat and leads to many undesirable health consequences (Frederick Health, 2021). However, an issue of interest is identifying smoking as a potential predictor of reduced academic performance among adolescents. This paper proposes using inferential analysis to examine this relationship between two groups of adolescents, smokers, and nonsmokers, respectively.

Statistical Model

The null hypothesis is that there is no difference in academic performance between the two groups of adolescents depending on whether or not they are in the category of smokers. The dependent variable could be the grade point average assessed for a particular school year, such as K-12 for relatively mature adolescents. Testing sample averages for the two groups is the goal of the parametric t-test, which is based on examining the statistical difference between the averages (Hora, 2021). For example, one might assume that adolescents who smoke have comparably lower mean scores μ_smoking < μ_non-smoking, and thus the null hypothesis in this example is postulated as μ_smoking ≥ μ_non-smoking. The parametric test determines the statistical significance of this difference p-value, from which it can be concluded whether there is a proven effect of smoking on adolescent academic performance. The parametric nature of this test allows the results to be extrapolated to the general population, but in this case, the size of the two samples should be sufficient to reduce undesirable bias effects.

Conclusion

To summarize, it should be clarified that smoking may affect adolescent academic performance, but this assumption requires statistical testing. By comparing two groups — smoking and non-smoking adolescents — through a parametric t-test, it is possible to examine this assumption and draw conclusions based on the resulting p-value. This result implies a preventive practice that encourages smoking cessation among adolescents if the alternative hypothesis is accepted. If smoking does affect academic performance, then follow-up studies could test the effect of the frequency of this smoking in combination with additional predictors, such as alcohol consumption and video games, in multiple regression tests.

References

Frederick Health. (2021). Dangers of smoking at a young age. Frederick Health.

Hora, S. (2021). Parametric Tests — the t-test. TDS.

Abstract

Many adult African Americans suffer from lung cancer and cardiac diseases as a result of tobacco smoking. The Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is the effective intervention to contribute to smoking cessation among the adult African Americans in the United States.

The effectiveness of the CBT for smoking cessation is stated with references to the observed high rates of overcoming tobacco dependence among different groups of the American population, including the African Americans. The therapy’s coping strategies, the focus on inner motivation, strategies to change behaviors, and on the racial and ethnic group’s differences are effective to contribute to the African Americans’ high rates in relation to the successful smoking cessation.

Effectiveness of the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Smoking Cessation

Tobacco smoking is one of the most challenging health problems within the American society with the focus on the spread of smoking among the African American population. As a result, many adult African Americans suffer from lung cancer and cardiac diseases caused by tobacco smoking.

The Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) remains to be the standard intervention and the most actively used approach in relation to smoking cessation in the United States. Due to the fact of the intervention’s popularity, researchers actively discuss the question of the therapy’s effectiveness for different categories of the US population, including the African Americans.

Thus, the research question which is important to be answered in the paper with references to the current investigations on the topic can be formulated the following way: How effective is the CBT as the actively used intervention for smoking cessation with the focus on the African American adults? It is important to answer the question about the effectiveness of the CBT for smoking cessation with references to the racial and ethnic differences influencing the effectiveness of the CBT and to the comparison of the CBT with the other therapies.

The CBT is the effective intervention to influence the smoking cessation among the American population because of changing the persons’ attitudes to smoking as a habit, but few researches are conducted to investigate the effects on the African Americans. Thus, Webb and the group of researchers focused on analyzing the effectiveness of the CBT in the group of African Americans (Webb, Ybarra, Baker, Reis, & Carey, 2010, p. 25).

The researchers developed the trial for 154 participants where 65% are the representatives of the female population. The results were assessed after the first seven days of the therapy, after six sessions of counseling, after eight weeks of the therapy, and after three and six months after the whole course (Webb et al., 2010).

The researchers have found that 31% of the adult African Americans demonstrate the absence of tobacco dependence in six months after the therapy. To demonstrate the achievement of the hypothesized positive effects, Webb and colleagues compared the results with the outcomes of the general treatment strategies which are 14% (Webb et al., 2010, p. 31).

Following the researchers’ results, it is possible to state that the CBT is the effective intervention to change the African Americans’ attitude to smoking and to contribute to the successful smoking cessation because of the observed high percentage in relation to the therapy positive results.

The fact of observing rather high rates related to the effectiveness of the CBT for smoking cessation is also supported with references to the results among such groups of population as the cancer patients. To understand the effectiveness of the CBT as the strategy to quit smoking, it is necessary to refer to the variety of researches on the issue.

Thus, according to Schnoll, Rothman, and Wielt, the CBT is the appropriate therapy to cope with smoking behaviors because of influencing the patients’ motivation (Schnoll, Rothman, & Wielt, 2005, p. 2). The researchers assumed that the CBT can promote the smoking cessation among cancer patients effectively and focused on the study of the randomized sample including 109 participants with the help of the Cognitive-Social Health Information-Processing model (Schnoll, Rothman, & Wielt, 2005).

It is found that no significant differences can be observed among the therapeutic approaches, but the rate of 43.2% successful smoking cessation is fixed in three months after the use of the CBT (Schnoll, Rothman, & Wielt, 2005, p. 5).

These results can be compared with the results of Webb and colleagues’ research findings in 31% successful smoking cessation (Webb et al., 2010, p. 31). From this perspective, the CBT is obviously the effective intervention to contribute to smoking cessation among different types of the population because the high results are fixed with references to the conducted researches in the field.

It is also important to pay attention to the fact that the ability of the person to quit smoking is often associated not only with the strategy used but also with the definite racial and ethnic factors. The high rates of the spread of lung cancer and cardiac diseases among the African Americans are closely associated with their specific smoking behaviors and low rates of smoking cessation (Webb et al., 2010).

Thus, Trinidad and the group of researchers supported the focus on differences in smoking cessation regarding the racial or ethnic factors with the proper analysis of the national survey’s data on the issue (Trinidad, Perez-Stable, White, Emery, & Messer, 2011, p. 700). The researchers examined the 2003 Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey, and analyzed the statistical data with the help of TUS-CPS survey resources (Trinidad et al., 2011).

Trinidad and the researchers compared the results on different racial and ethnic groups, distinguishing between the groups’ smoking behaviours and successful experiences in smoking cessation. According to the investigation’s findings, only 50% of African Americans can successfully quit smoking, and these high rates are caused by their specific smoking behaviours.

Furthermore, African Americans are ready to rely on the help of therapists to quit smoking (Trinidad et al., 2011, p. 704). From this point, such therapies as the CBT and many others can be discussed as rather effective to contribute to smoking cessation among the adult African Americans because of regulating their certain behaviours and attitudes to smoking which are fixed and examined by different groups of researchers (Trinidad et al., 2011; Webb et al., 2010).

Stimulating the patients’ inner motivation with the help of coping strategies, therapists demonstrate the paths for the further development of the positive habit as opposed to the smoking behaviour (Schnoll, Rothman, & Wielt, 2005).

The comparison of the CBT with such approaches as the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) supports the fact that the CBT is still one of the most practicable and effective interventions used to help persons in coping with tobacco smoking. According to Hernandez-Lopez and the group of researchers’ hypothesis, the new ACT is more effective in smoking cessation than the traditional CBT (Hernandez-Lopez, Luciano, Bricker, Roales-Nieto, & Montesinos, 2009, p. 724).

To support their idea, the researchers developed the quasi-experimental design with references to the weekly sessions for adult smokers who tried to quit smoking with the help of the ACT and with the help of the CBT. 43 participants were treated with the help of the ACT, and 38 participants were treated with the focus on the CBT (Hernandez-Lopez et al., 2009, p. 726). To conclude about the study’s findings, the researchers compared the received results in relation to effectiveness of the ACT and CBT.

The researchers concluded that differences in the effectiveness of the ACT and CBT are not significant to state about the extreme effectiveness of this or that intervention in comparison with another one (Hernandez-Lopez et al., 2009, p. 727).

Both strategies are rather feasible and appropriate to be used for smoking cessation. Thus, the proposed hypothesis was supported only partially, and it is possible to speak about the relevance of the CBT to help persons in quitting tobacco smoking along with the newly proposed interventions such as the ACT.

The CBT is based on the direct work with the persons’ feelings and emotions, referring to the different types of coping strategies. The effectiveness of these strategies is supported with the fact that the CBT is discussed as the standard intervention in psychotherapy to help patients in smoking cessation.

However, the use of such approaches as the ACT can provoke the discussion of the CBT inappropriateness in relation to the contemporary tendencies. Nevertheless, according to the results of Hernandez-Lopez and the group of the researchers’ study, the effectiveness of CBT for smoking cessation among the adult population is the stated fact that is why it can be actively used to treat the African American population as the alternative to many other modern interventions (Hernandez-Lopez et al., 2009; Webb et al., 2010).

Thus, it is possible to state that the CBT is the highly effective intervention to be used to promote the smoking cessation among the adult African Americans.

The reasons for the statement are in the fact that the therapy’s coping strategies can contribute to the work with the African Americans as the specific racial and ethnic group the members of which are characterized by the high dependence on smoking habits, but low rates in successful smoking cessation.

The CBT can improve the persons’ attitudes and behaviors in relation to smoking basing on their inner motivation as it is stated with references to the researches conducted on the topic.

Furthermore, the CBT can be discussed as the effective intervention used within different groups of the American population without references to the differences in race or physical and emotional state. The current research literature on the topic can be discussed as supportive to state that the traditional CBT is more effective today in comparison with the other strategies and methods such as the ACT or general treatment strategies.

The CBT depends on using the persons’ inner motivation resources and emotions related to smoking in order to help in quitting the smoking habit. From this point, the therapy is also helpful to be used in working with the adult African Americans in order to overcome the high rates of unsuccessful smoking cessation and spread of such diseases as lung cancer and hypertension.

References

Hernandez-Lopez, M., Luciano, M., Bricker, J., Roales-Nieto, J., & Montesinos, F. (2009). Acceptance and commitment therapy for smoking cessation: A preliminary study of its effectiveness in comparison with cognitive behavioral therapy. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 23(4), 723-730.

Schnoll, R., Rothman, R., & Wielt, D. (2005). A randomized pilot study of cognitive-behavioral therapy versus basic health education for smoking cessation among cancer patients. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 30(1), 1-11.

Trinidad, D., Perez-Stable, E., White, M., Emery, S., & Messer, K. (2011). A nationwide analysis of US racial/ethnic disparities in smoking behaviors, smoking cessation, and cessation-related factors. American Journal of Public Health, 101(4), 699–706.

Webb, M., Ybarra, D., Baker, E., Reis, I., & Carey, M. (2010). Cognitive-behavioral therapy to promote smoking cessation among African American smokers: A randomized clinical trial. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 78(1), 24-33.

Introduction

This research aimed to investigate the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) on smoking cessation among African Americans. Tobacco smoking affects African Americans. However, limited research exists to show the effectiveness of CBT intervention on smoking cessation among African American populations (Herna´ndez-Lo´pez, Luciano, Bricker, Roales-Nieto and Montesinos, 2009; Webb, Ybarra, Baker, Reis and Carey, 2010).

Webb and colleagues pointed out that tobacco smoking was a major public health problem in the US. In addition, it had serious negative effects on African Americans who developed smoking-related health problems like lung cancer, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, and stroke (Webb et al., 2010).

Herna´ndez-Lo´pez and colleagues note that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the current standard and most popular intervention for tobacco smoking cessation. CBT relies on teaching smokers about coping skills by focusing on “internal factors like craving and external cues like seeing other smokers” (Herna´ndez-Lo´pez et al., 2009).

Herna´ndez-Lo´pez et al (2009) noted that CBT relied on smokers’ emotions, physical aspects, and thoughts to control smoking craving and cessation. They also demonstrated that external influences induced internal cues, which led smokers to crave for smoking.

CBT works by teaching smokers skills that can help them to reduce and avoid both internal and external smoking cues. The US Public Health Service notes that CBT can be effective when implemented alongside other interventions, such as pharmacotherapy. Scholars and professional in public health have noted declines in behavioral smoking cessation due to high rates of abstinence. Hence, they called for changes in behavioral interventions.

Research Method

The study design was experimental mixed factorial. The researchers conducted intervention sessions by CBT and group general health education (GHE), counseling, and follow-ups. Study participants were randomly selected for all sessions. They conducted the study between “August 2006 and August 2008 in a midsize northeastern city” (Webb et al., 2010). The study participants were adults aged between 18 and 65 years. They were African Americans who were currently smoking and not in other smoking cessation program.

Smokers who smoked more than five cigarettes each day, had carbon monoxide reading of 8ppm in the breath, and wanted to quit smoking were selected. The study did not include pregnant or breastfeeding women, populations using pharmacotherapy or those with acute cardiovascular or respiratory health problems. A total of 343 smokers were eligible for the study, but only 154 participants took part in the study. All participants provided written informed consent and the Syracuse University Institutional Review Board approved the study.

Data Analysis

All preliminary t tests and chi-square tests were conducted with SPSS 15.0 and SAS 9.2 to determine differences between conditions and baseline variables. Logistic regression was used to determine the study results.

Research Findings

The study results showed that “intent-to-treat 7-day ppa was significantly greater in the CBT than the GHE condition at the end of counseling (51% vs. 27%), at 3 months (34% vs. 20%), and at 6 months (31% vs. 14%)” (Webb et al., 2010) as hypothesised. A generalized linear mixed model showed “a significant effect of CBT versus GHE on 7-day ppa (odds ratio _ 2.57, 95% CI [1.40, 4.71] and also an effect of time (p _ .002)” (Webb et al., 2010). Condition-time relation was not statistically significant, as well as 24-hour ppa and 28-day continuous abstinence. Per protocol results were the same as intent-to-treat results.

The study concluded that CBT intervention was effective for African American smoking cessation.

Conclusion

Tobacco smoking among African Americans led to health related problems. However, limited research existed on the use of CBT on smoking cessation among African Americans. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of CBT intervention among African American smokers.

There were 154 study participants. Study findings showed that CBT had significant relationships with smoking cessation among research participants. As a result, the study concluded that CBT intervention was effectual for smoking cessation among African Americans. Health professionals have observed that CBT could be effective when used with other interventions like pharmacotherapy.

References

Herna´ndez-Lo´pez, M., Luciano, C., Bricker, J. B., Roales-Nieto, J. G., and Montesinos, F. (2009). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Smoking Cessation: A Preliminary Study of Its Effectiveness in Comparison With Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 23(4), 723–730. DOI: 10.1037/a0017632.

Webb, M. S., Ybarra, D. R. de, Baker, E. A., Reis, I. M., and Carey, M. P. (2010). Cognitive–Behavioral Therapy to Promote Smoking Cessation Among African American Smokers: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 78(1), 24–33. DOI: 10.1037/a0017669.

Introduction: A Descent into Madness with a Cigar in the Hand

On the one hand, there is little in common between the problems of schizophrenia among men and women and the effects of nicotine on human muscular system.

However, each of the issues is topical at the moment, and each offers a unique problem which needs to be researched. Once learning the effects which nicotine has on people’s health and the relation between gender and schizophrenia, one can possibly find the ways to prevent the latter and to protect the people in the high-risk group from the development of schizophrenia.

Blowing Rings of Smoke: the Paradox of a Cigar Box

It seems that smoking has always been among the worst habits ever. Considered to be harmful not only for the health of smokers, but also for the people who are forced to inhale the cigar smoke when being around a person with a cigar, smoking has been labeled as a no-no for years. However, according to the recent finding, smoking can possibly boost one’s reaction, which gives a reason to reconsider the effects of the given habit.

Nicotine as a powerful stimulus: the source of energy

There is no doubt that nicotine is a substance that a lot of people are dependent on and claim to be their performance enhancer. Indeed, according to the research conducted by Umezu, nicotine can have an effect of a stimulus. A

t least, when tested on mice, NIC has had an impressive effect: “The present study revealed that NIC at 0.25–2mg/kg acutely reduced ambulatory activity in ICR mice under the same experimental condition for evaluating effects of psychostimulants BUP and MP and depressants HAL and FLU” (Umezu, 2012, 5).

Therefore, it can be considered that the use of nicotine can possibly improve one’s performance, boosting one’s energy and enhancing one’s activity. The above-mentioned change in human’s reactions can be explained by the increase of the dopamine hormone. As the results of the research conducted by Froeliger, Beckham, Dennis, Koznik & McClernon state, “Nicotine-induced increases in reactivity to emotional stimuli in the striatum may be due to increased dopamine transmission in this region brought on by nicotine administration (or decreases in dopamine neurotransmission in the absence of nicotine)” (Froeliger, Beckham, Dennis, Koznik & McClernon, 2012, 5)

Activity alert: entranced by a cigarette

However, it can also be argued that using nicotine as a performance enhancer will be a mistake. According to the research results, the key effect of nicotine is to boost emotional activity. Hence, it can be considered that nicotine can only be used for enhancing one’s reaction to certain emotional stimuli, but not to improve the physical or mental reaction.

As Froeliger, Beckham, Dennis, Koznik & McClernon claim, “The observed patch x group interaction in SFG suggested greater reactivity to emotional cues in this region when smokers with PTSD were in a nicotine-deprived state. The SFG plays an important role in emotion, memory, and motivational processes” (Froeliger, Beckham, Dennis, Koznik & McClernon, 2012, 5).

Indeed, as Mazhar & Herbst (2012) claim, with the increase of nicotine rates in a human body, the nicotinic acetylchlorine receptor (AChR) starts responding to the slightest changes in the state of the patient, which leads to the increase in reaction quality: “During postnatal maturation of NMJs, an initial, small oval-shaped AChR cluster is transformed into an array of pretzel-shaped branches that mirror the branching pattern of the motor nerve terminal, forming precisely matched pre- and postsynaptic branches” (Mazhar & Herbst, 2012, 475).

Moreover, the above-mentioned results clarify that smokers display fast reactions only when suffering nicotine privation, which means that nicotine is not the answer to the problem of being unfocused. It is obvious that the lack of nicotine is far more efficient for developing fast reactions.

Getting the priorities in line: health before habits

Therefore, it is clear that the information concerning the positive effects of nicotine must be taken with a grain of salt. Even though nicotine does contribute to the development of better emotional reactions towards the outer stimuli, it is still obviously a substance which harms people’s health. Moreover, the recent researches show that the traditional use of nicotine, i. e., smoking, doubtlessly leads to development of cancer. According to the findings offered by Lee, Wu & Ho (2012), smoking does have most negative impact on lungs:

Nicotine exposure induces the augmented expression ofα7-nAChRs, which causes an influx of Ca 2+ and activates downstream signals, such as protein kinase C, Raf-1, extracellular-signal regulated kinase (ERK) 1/2, and c-Myc, leading to increases in cell proliferation, cancer cell migration, metastasis, or the inhibition of apoptosis” (Lee, Wu & Ho, 2012, 4).

Therefore, it goes without saying that smoking should not be considered as the ultimate energy enhancer.

“M” for “Men” and ”Madness”: Schizophrenia Prefers the Stronger Sex

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Unfortunately, schizophrenia is a part and parcel of reality, and there has been no absolute cure invented for it, despite numerous attempts to come up with an ideal intervention. However, it seems that schizophrenia does not strike blindly – according to the recent research, men are more subject to the disorder than women. Taking a closer look at the issue, one can possibly figure out if gender is what matters in the given case.

Schizophrenia among men: facts and myths

To start with, it is necessary to explore the depth of the specifics of a male organism. It seems that, due to the fact that the metabolic processes within a man’s body are slower than the ones in a woman’s organism, the former are more subject to developing schizophrenia.

However, women’s resistance to schizophrenia must not be exaggerated. It should be mentioned that women are also subject to developing the basic schizophrenia symptoms when exposed to the factors inducing the latter.

As Ochoa, Usall, Cobo, Labad & Kulkarni claim, “Women have greater metabolic and endocrine-induced antipsychotic side effects. In fact, every woman exposed to atypical antipsychotics is at risk of developing hyperprolactinemia-related problems, particularly young women” (Ochoa, Usall, Cobo, Labad & Kulkarni, 2012, 4).

Nevertheless, it seems that women are more resistant to the disorder, mainly, because female body glands produce the hormone that makes women more resistant to the disorder: “Modern-day research shows that during the menstrual cycles of female schizophrenia patients, the high-oestrogen luteal phase is associated with significant improvements in psychopathology and functioning compared to the low-oestrogen follicular phase” (Hayes, Gavrilidis and Kulkarni, 2012, 2).

Women and schizophrenia: losing their mind

Unlike men, women seem to develop the symptoms of schizophrenia less frequently. As the research conducted by Iniesta, Ochoa & Usall (2012) certifies, among the people admitted in hospital over the course of the research at least one time, there were 588 women and 1508 men, which made 28% and 72% respectively.

s the authors claim, the “results on the risk of hospitalization show that women are admitted to the hospital less than men for the general sample, the schizophrenia patient sample, and the paranoid subtype, which is the most common” (Iniesta, Ochoa & Usall, 2012, 5).

The sad truth, revealed: when madness takes over

Hence, it can be concluded that men suffer from schizophrenia more frequently than women do, mostly because of the specifics of the male and female bodies. Having estrogen produced in their bodies, women are less threatened by the possibility of developing the given mental disorder.

As Hayes, Gavrilidis and Kulkarni (2012) assure, schizophrenia is mostly the scourge of the male population: “Oestrogen protects women against severe psychosis during their childbearing years, and that oestrogen withdrawal of any kind may be able to induce psychosis in vulnerable women” (Hayes, Gavrilidis and Kulkarni , 2012, 2).

Considering the aspect of remission among the patients with evident symptoms of schizophrenia, the same tendency can be observed, i.e., women tend to display much more resistance to developing recurring symptoms of schizophrenia, while among men, the above-mentioned phenomenon is observed more frequently: “A lower percentage of male (48.6%, n =34) than female patients (60.0%,n =18) were deemed in clinical remission” (Carpiniello, Pinna, Tusconi, Zacchedu & Patteri, 2012, 4).

Thus, it can be considered that men not only suffer from schizophrenia more than women do, but are also under a considerably greater risk of developing schizophrenia, while the opportunity to have a remission among men is highly unlikely. Thus, it is obvious that the focus for the further researches on schizophrenia, its key factors and the means to prevent it should be focused on men rather than on women.

Conclusion: Surprising Discoveries and the Rosiest Prospects

Therefore, it is obvious that, despite all the positive effects that smoking can possibly have on a human body, the negative ones are still stronger. Though nicotine can possibly enhance one’s performance and boost activity, it is still worth keeping in mind that the given phenomenon is chemically induced and, therefore, will not last long.

Moreover, developed chemically, the effect of a burst of energy is highly likely to be followed by a rapid decrease of activity, since the gland producing the hormone, once boosted by nicotine will be devastated soon. Thus, it is preferable that the hormone should be boosted in a natural way.

As for the issues concerning the relations between schizophrenia and gender, there seems to be a pattern for women to Suffer from the given disorder much less frequently than men. As it has turned out, the pivoting point in the range of factors inducing the development of schizophrenia is estrogen, the hormone which women have in much more ample amount than men do.

Therefore, it can be considered that men are more susceptible to developing schizophrenia. However, it is important to keep in mind hat, along with the above-mentioned factor, a wide range of others shape people’s susceptibility to schizophrenia considerably; hence, a number of social factors is excluded in the given conclusion. It is worth keeping in mind that in particular cases, deviations from the norm can be observed.

Reference List

Carpiniello, B., Pinna, F., Tusconi, M., Zacchedu, E. & Patteri, F. (2012). Gender differences in remission and recovery of schizophrenic and schizoaffective patients: preliminary results of a prospective cohort study. Schizophrenia Research and Treatment, 2012. doi: 10.1155/2012/576369

Froeliger, B., Beckham, J. C., Dennis, M. F., Koznik, D. V. & McClernon, F. J. (2012). Effects of nicotine on emotional reactivity in PTSD and non-PTSD smokers: results of a pilot fMRI study. Advances in Pharmacological Sciences, 2012. doi: 10.1155/2012/265724

Hayes, Gavrilidis and Kulkarni. (2012). The role of oestrogen and other hormones in the pathophysiology and treatment of schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Research and Treatment, 2012. doi: 10.1155/2012/540273

Iniesta, R., Ochoa, S., & Usall, J. (2012). Gender differences in service use in a sample of people with schizophrenia and other psychoses. Schizophrenia Research and Treatment, 2012. doi: 10.1155/2012/365452

Lee, C.-H., Wu, C.-H., & Ho, Y.-S. (2012). From smoking to cancers: novel targets to neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. Journal of Oncology, 2011. Doi: 10.1155/2011/693424

Mazhar, S. & Herbst, R. (2012). The formation of complex acetylcholine receptor clusters requires MuSK kinase activity and structural information from the MuSK extracellular domain. Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, 49, 475-486.

Ochoa, S., Usall, J., Cobo, J., Labad, X., & Kulkarni, J. (2012). Gender differences in Schizophrenia and first-episode psychosis: a comprehensive literature review. Schizophrenia Research and Treatment, 2012. doi: 10.1155/2012/916198

Umezu, T. (2012). Unusual effects of nicotine as a psychostimulant on ambulatory activity in mice. Pharmacology, 2012. doi: 10.5402/2012/170981

Cigarette smoking is one of the areas that have been of concern to the society for a long time now. Efforts are always being made to curb cigarettes smoking with emphasis being laid on the health concerns of smoking.

The advice seems to be falling on deaf ears as evidence from statistics continue to show high prevalence of people who smoke and are unable to quit the habit. What is causing even further worries is that the addiction is reported in the teenagers too, contrary to the common assumption that smoking addiction is evident in the adults.

Teenagers are also faced with similar issues that come with addiction as adults. Statistics indicate that among the 20-50% teenagers who are addicted to smoking attempt to quit but the success rates still remain relatively low with only a third fully quitting smoking.

Smoking addiction in adults has been attributed to starting smoking at the teenage years. A large number of teens are reported to be experimenting with smoking everyday marking their start of smoking with the numbers of those who start smoking daily across the world going up to over 80,000.

Male teenagers register higher numbers of those who smoke than their female counterparts. Due to the constant reminders that come with campaigns on the dangers of smoking, teens have been said to register high numbers of those who make efforts to quit than the adult smokers.

Smoking amongst the teenagers start gradually before elevating to addiction levels. Several reasons have been pointed out as influencing the teen’s decision to smoke. One of them is which is a common phenomenon is picking the habit from a close friend or friends who smoke. The company that the young people associate with form major influences to their behavior.

This is because young people are not fully developed to exactly discern what is considered bad by relying on the information they are given by the adults but rather depend on their follow peers to decide their course of behavior. Another reason driving teenagers to smoking is the curiosity to just try it.

Young people are at age where their form of learning is experiential and therefore easily tend to want to try something to get a feel of it, this way many teens have ended up being hooked on smoking. Teenagers are usually at the adolescent age where conformity and appeal to fellow peers is gauged on ones ability to be ‘cool’. Many teenagers have therefore resulted to smoking as they seek to derive the coolness from it only to end up with the habit.

The situation in the homes is not helping salvage the situation either. Many parents who smoke do so in front of their teenage kids prompting the children, who derive inspiration from the adult parents, to pick up the habit too. The fact that their parents do smoke gives them the impression that it is not a bad thing per say (Wang 10).

Another factor that has led to many teens picking up a habit of smoking is seen in the way the media has shifted its target to the youthful generation. Cigarette manufacturing companies have resulted to target teenagers when doing the marketing of the tobacco products.

Market research in the tobacco industries have led them to that all important discovery that most adults who are hooked on smoking started smoking when they were teenagers. This has driven them to engaging in rigorous marketing campaigns targeting the youths in their teens. Another discovery by the tobacco industry players that fueled their efforts is the realization that they were loosing a relatively big number of smokers by quitting and others to deaths related to smoking.

This has led them to stepping up their efforts in a bid to lure more people into using their product to compensate the numbers lost. Different brands are being manufactured with attention being placed on their youthful appeal since most people choose their loyal brand during their teenage years (Canadian Lung Association 6).

The tobacco companies have resulted to various tactics to lure the teens into smoking. The media has been the widely abused tool in their bid with movies stars being displayed when smoking hence appealing to the youths. Various tobacco companies have been known to go into the extent of paying huge amounts to have famous actors smoke their brand in the movie acts.

In TV advertisements, various companies have used cartoon figures that are well known to the teens hence relatively increasing their sales to the youth population.

Tobacco companies also introduce offers as promotional strategies with the samples being products that appeal to the teenagers and calling on them to smoke as many cigarette packets to qualify for the promotion offers. Companies have come up with ways to make the art of smoking appear to be cool. TV programs that are famous with teens, like The Simpsons, have shown most of the characters including the young smoking (Wang 10).

In the attempts to deal with the problem of smoking amongst teenagers, focus has been directed to fighting them from starting smoking. This has led to a major neglect on the issue of smoking addiction amongst the teenagers since addiction is mostly considered a problem associated with the adult population. The teenagers themselves do not consider addiction as a problem that can affect the youths, therefore when it becomes a reality it hits the by surprise.

This has also been attributed to the fact that most studies done have dealt with the addiction problem by explaining the chemical element which is nicotine, the psychoactive problem and the step by step process that one goes through to end up with an addiction problem. These elements have no inclination to concepts that can be understood by teens to deter them from smoking and eventually addiction.

Addiction problem is usually mentioned when we are considering the attempts to quit smoking. This is dominantly looked at as an adult issue thereby ignoring addiction amongst the teenagers. Some experts have offered advice that has hindered steeping up efforts to fight addiction amongst the teens arguing that making them aware that one can be permanently addicted to smoking might give them ideas to make lame excuses as to why they don’t want to quit smoking quoting that they are addicted.

Young people in addition still have unrealistic ideas concerning the problem of addiction despite being armed with the general information on the dangers of addiction. Teens sometimes like to refer to their condition as having reached addiction levels while the real pharmacological nicotine dependence has not taken place.

They therefore continue smoking and even increase the smoking frequency quoting the same reason following the knowledge that addiction is a possibility hence conditioning their minds to adjust accordingly. Teen smokers also pick up smoking and make it a habit while arguing that they will easily quit smoking with ease when they decide to. They downplay the seriousness of smoking addiction thinking it is just easy to drop smoking but eventually end up addicts.

Failure of the teenagers to believe in the concept of addiction amongst young people as a reality is highly attributed to the studies conducted and information available concerning addiction which fails to include the scope of teenage brackets making smoking addiction seem like an adult problem primarily.

The available statistics have shown reality on the ground as displaying the results that are totally different from the common misconceptions. Truth is that the issue of physical dependence on nicotine, otherwise known as smoking addiction, is a reality amongst the teenagers as it is in adults.

Despite the facts that adults addicts total up to twice those of teen addicts, the same dangers and problems associated with smoking, addiction and attempts to quit smoking are similar across both age brackets. Smoking is said to cause two dozens of illnesses with a majority of them leading to serious health problems. Smoking is the leading cause of cancer which among the top killer illnesses all over the world (Riordan 12).

As more and more teenagers start smoking, a substantial number of the smokers, totaling to three quarters, make attempts to quit smoking addiction but eventually fail.

This is a real morale killer for the young people since their hopes to stop the habit when they wish doesn’t occur leaving them with much regrets. In addition to having the sense of helplessness and regrets, the young people also experience the withdrawal effects that come with the attempts to quit smoking. Withdrawal symptoms include; irritability, loss of concentration, anxiousness, dizziness, hunger, insomnia among others.

The withdrawal symptoms persist for several weeks or even months. Most teens that make attempt experience these symptoms and have a hard time successfully going through that period during which they feel a strong urge to smoke. Most of them are unable to cope with the symptoms and end up falling back to smoking again.

The bid to come up with the right methods to fight addiction amongst the teens usually takes a keen understanding of the factors that lead to smoking first. These as noted earlier are mostly as a result of some sort of influence from an external source to fulfill some inner quest which may be caused by pressure to stay relevant. These causes basically can be classified broadly as resulting from the struggles that come with the teenagers going through the adolescent phase in life. During this time, the teens listen to their age mates more than they do to the adults.

This increases the probability to pick up smoking habit. Their physiological developmental phase also plays part in the habit elevating to addiction levels. At this stage in life they usually possess higher levels of emotional urges to take to something like smoking than they do possess the ability to resist and self control.

They therefore end up taking up to smoking and are unable to fight the habit and end up being addicted (Cyprus Mail International Daily 2).

Programs to fight addiction may therefore take the path of stopping the teens from taking up smoking habits in the first place. This includes designing programs that are conducted by experts, teachers or even parents. The contents are educating on the dangers of smoking while highlighting the diseases, the dependency, and death.

The statistics seeking to show recently collected facts can also be used to create a clear picture of how serious the issue is. Upon being armed with the knowledge, the teenagers will want to stay away from picking up the habit to escape the dangers. The education may also be coupled with a real interaction with cancer patents so as to create a real picture of the intensity and instill a sense of fear.

This is because young people easily comprehend by visual aspects as opposed to figuring the logic in theory aspects or the statistics. The fear effect may also be brought out in the sense of altering facts presented to the teens. Information offered to them maybe altered to read that addiction happens immediately one starts smoking. This way they will be deterred from starting (Hampton 3).

Apart from programs that seek to reverse picking up the smoking habit, it is important to appreciate the prevalence of addiction amongst the teenagers and therefore consider programs that specifically help those with addiction problem.

These include a step by step support program for guiding them through the quitting process and supporting them during the experiences with withdrawal symptoms. This way a problem that has been ignored for long will be solved by a great margin. Addiction may also be fought by tactics that seek to delay the time teens experiment with smoking.

This is based on known facts that most people who become addicts start smoking at early ages when the dangers of smoking are not easy to comprehend. Playing around with such programs that seek to prevent onset of smoking may prove helpful in teenagers not taking to smoking hence no addiction and in the long run saving lives that would have otherwise be lost from ailments related to smoking.

In conclusion, realizing that almost all cases of addiction are as a result of smoking from an early age may play a big role in preventing such cases. The onset of smoking habit has also been said to be an influencing factor to teens taking into abusing other drugs. This increases the chances of loosing a lot of lives and hence the need to delay the stage of experimenting with smoking.

Works Cited

Canadian Lung Association. Smoking & Tobacco, 28 Sept. 2006. Web.

Cyprus Mail International Daily. Dangers of Smoking Must be Highlighted. 9 July. 2002. Web.

Hampton Scott. Prevention of Teenage Smoking in Local Area Schools. Developmental Psychology, 12 Sept. 2006. Web.

Riordan Meg. Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. 14 Dec. 2009. Web.

Wang Chunhong, Henley Nathan and Donovan Robert. Exploring Children’s Conceptions of Smoking Addiction. Health Education Research. 1 March. 2004. Web.

Introduction

Smoking is among the most common habits globally. It is supposedly a way of unwinding and relaxing among smokers after a stressful event or a hard day’s work. Despite the assertion, a variety of diseases have been attributed to smoking particularly for long-term smokers.

Smoking is a substantial risk factor for a variety of health challenges including lung cancer, emphysema, and cardiovascular ailments. In cases where the ailments originate from other causes, smoking speeds up the development of health conditions.

The advancements in medical awareness and technology make it possible for individuals to pinpoint a variety of deadly diseases attributed to smoking. Actually, smoking is the leading avoidable grounds for fatality globally. In the United States, it claims hundred thousands of lives.

Main Body

Nicotine is a chemical element present in many substances including cigarettes. Once an individual uses nicotine-containing products regularly, they are susceptible to addiction particularly when the product is smoked. Habitual cigarette users become so obsessed that it is almost impossible to abstain from smoking. Rehabilitation techniques are hence imperative in assisting smokers to quit smoking.

Larson and Sydeman (2013) indicate that smoking is among the leading risks for coronary cardiac disease (CHD) in the United States. When compared to non-smokers, the odds ratio (OR) for myo-cardiac infarction is around 2.5 for retirement-aged adults.

On the other hand, the OR for cardiovascular conditions is around 2 (1-3). In addition, upon a cardiac occurrence, a cigarette user is 2 times likely to have a restenosis (Larson & Sydeman, 2013). The victim may also die following a cardiovascular disease especially when they are above 55 years.

The authors indicate that patients with coronary cardiac disease average an estimated decrease in death risk of 36 percent upon quitting. An average of 46 percent risk decrease is projected for myocardial infarction patients. Unfortunately, most smokers find it difficult or impossible to quit smoking on their own prerogative and effort.

Determined smokers wishing to quit hence require various intervention strategies to help them out of the smoking trap. Different intervention strategies indicate different levels of effectiveness for different patients.

Uncomplicated but concise advice from medical practitioner to a smoker increases the odds of quitting by up to 70 percent compared to nonintervention (Larson & Sydeman, 2013). Group behavior therapy increases the chances of successful quitting by twofold which is comparable to individual patient counseling. The authors indicate that individual counseling is superior to nonintervention.

They claim that rehabilitation efforts that are more concentrated reflect no improvement in self-restraint rates. Apparently, self-help interventions are the least successful. Evidence does not exist on their additional benefits in permutation with counseling. The quitting numbers are threefold over for inpatients in hospital and care homes compared to smokers in conventional home settings.

Larson and Sydeman (2013) conclude that individuals with Type D Personality do not indicate CHD risk association. However, there is a strong link between tobacco smoking and CHD. Smoking increases the chances of mortality. For CHD patients, interventions ought to begin in the hospital. Consequently, it should last for at least one month upon discharge.

Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable mortality among the US population (Getsios & Marton, 2013). It leads to grave tobacco-related conditions such as lung cancer, persistent respiratory diseases, cardiac diseases, and stroke. Despite the fact that tobacco use has declined in recent years, 19 percent of adults continue to smoke. Majority of smokers who attempt to quit relapse.

The dependence on tobacco is perceived as a chronic disease in itself. It requires numerous attempts to cease smoking. It is estimated that 1 in 4 smokers who attempt to quit on their own succeed. The rest relapse and never attempt quitting on their own unless they seek rehabilitation services.

Unassisted cessation attempts are popular. However, majority of smokers who successfully quit seek cessation medication. Over 40 percent continue to use medication to sustain the attempt (Getsios & Marton, 2013).

According to Getsios and Marton (2013) most of the economic models that evaluate the effects of smoke quitting rehabilitation consider the influence of a single quit attempt. The evaluations are based on long-term health and financial outcomes. They often presume that smokers who fail in their cessation attempt or be successful, but later relapse, continue smoking for the rest of their life.

The motivation to quit is an essential construct in the smoking termination process (Getsios & Marton, 2013). Despite this fact, existing literature is devoid of the agreement on how such motivation is described and calculated. Among the general smoking population, the motivation to quit smoking is gauged against the individual’s willingness to seek interventions as well as using facts to support the cessation attempts.

Additionally, a variety of motivating factors such as overt self-claimed urge to quit, economic and physical conditions, anxiety and expectancies as well as change in attitude towards tobacco are among the predicting factors that indicate the attempt to quit for general smokers.

Conversely, for cerebral health patient smokers, a substantial percentage would want to. Using the Trans-theoretical Model of behavior change, the authors investigate the occurrence of future ‘willingness to quit’ among patients with schizophrenia, associated psychotic disorders, and depression. For instance, between 19 and 38 percent of smoking mental health patients consider quitting within a month.

Such willingness can effectively be translated into victorious quitting. The quitting rates among such patients can be up to 22 percent. However, the goal can only be achieved when merged psychosocial and pharmacological interventions are used.

Comprehending the smoker’s motivation to quit and related factors plays a significant role in helping clinical workers to address the use of tobacco in inpatient surroundings. The understanding may assist in the progression and delivery of efficient nicotine-dependence treatment.

Diverse behavioral and pharmacologic rehabilitations for tobacco use cessation have demonstrated efficacy. Consequently, the US department of health and human services advocates the use of medication and behavioral treatment for smoke quitting. An array of smoking prevention and management activities indicate substantial decrease in tobacco use during the last three decades.

The majority of wide-ranging and available methods utilized in these social campaigns include mass media smoke-quitting campaigns. These campaigns have been success in reducing the number of smokers. However, their efficacy at the personal levels is not vivid (Getsios & Marton, 2013).

Research conducted by Asvat and King (2014) tested the effectiveness of different types of smoking termination messages meant for racially-diverse American population through community-based awareness campaigns. The authors suggest that smoking is generally on the decrease in the United States.

They assert that a plea to persuade close friends to quit smoking is more successful in comparison to a plea to safeguard oneself from the destructive effects of tobacco. However, such pleas from a racially different friend are not well received and may not yield the desired results.

Population-based empirical evidence indicates that African Americans, Hispanic, uninsured, and young males rarely engage the services of quitting programs. However, when rehabilitation services are extended to these populations, quit attempts are more successful compared to the white counterparts.

The findings indicate that racial diversity, smoking history, and motivation to quit support African Americans when they receive smoke cessation rehabilitation and equality in receiving the services (Asvat and King, 2014).

A study conducted by Burgess and Sherman (2014) indicates that tobacco consumption and social disadvantage are progressively more intertwining as the difference in smoking percentages between the wealthy and the underprivileged individuals widens. The increases in tobacco prices heighten the economic baggage for marginalized groups. Study continuously indicates that they find it difficult to quit.

The result is augmented health, psychosomatic and economic challenges making the use of tobacco a substantial contributor to societal disparity and the subsequent repercussions.

The article concludes that mediations that encourage smoke quitting in underprivileged areas enhance the financial circumstances and livelihoods of the affected persons. Consequently, there is reduction in socio-economic discrepancies in transience.

Apparently, there exist a linear gradient between increased consumption of tobacco and injection drug prevalence with increase in area disadvantage. According to Cooper and Friedman (2007), when an area is disadvantaged, there are high chances that the population is bound to be impacted by the consequences of smoking tobacco and its products.

Locations of increased disadvantage create an apt atmosphere that encourages the continuous use of tobacco due to fewer smoking barriers due to the prevalence of injection drugs. Areas inhabited by American Africans, Hispanics and Asian Americans are among these locations (Cooper and Friedman, 2007).

These areas are prone to the existence of gangs that engage in excessive use of tobacco and other narcotics. These gangs rarely engage with the health system where they can receive rehabilitation services due to residential segregation.

Research conducted by Gritz and Danysh (2013) indicates that individuals living with HIV/AIDS have a significantly increased possibility of smoking in comparison to the general population. Considering their condition, they are more vulnerable to the unfavorable health implications of smoking.

The researchers found that cognitive and behavioral elements assist in altering beliefs and behaviors that act as hurdles to the attempt to quit the use of tobacco and consequently abstain. Motivation plays a fundamental role when helping people living with HIV/AIDS particularly during the treatment delivery stage.

The study indicates that African American and Hispanic persons smoke fewer cigarettes daily. However, they are nicotine dependent. The precise reason behind the tendency of using fewer cigarettes is not clear. The lack of financial endowment to buy tobacco products for day-to-day use is suspected to be a causative factor.

The authors indicate that there is dire need for studies to focus on how to sustain the impact of intervention, raising the general quit rates, and minimizing actual hurdles to termination related to psychiatric comorbidity (Gritz & Danysh, 2013).

A study conducted by Diana Burgess and Scott Sherman (2014) indicates that African Americas have lesser chances of quitting successfully compared to their white counterparts. The variation persists despite the former’s stronger urge, readiness, and motivation to quit. Additionally, they harbor the belief that they will quit successfully. Consequently, they attempt to quit more often than whites (Burgess & Sherman, 2014).

Empirical research indicates that an essential contributor to the differences in quitting is black Americans’ limited utilization of fact-based quitting rehabilitation. The African Americans are less likely to be screened for tobacco use. They rarely volunteer to receive cessation counseling or prescription for tobacco replacement rehabilitation.

The attitude of the African Americans limits the chances of caregivers intruding and offer rehabilitation services to smokers. The researchers assert that African Americans are more likely to benefit from tobacco quitting care model considering that they are less likely to have received earlier pharmacotherapy rehabilitation (Burgess & Sherman, 2014).

Conclusion

Smokers wishing to quit smoking encounter diverse challenges irrespective of whether or not they have other health conditions. However, smokers with other health challenges encounter increased chances of persistence use of tobacco. The same applies to individuals living in disadvantaged areas due to economic challenges.

It is hence imperative for clinical staff, counselors, and the community at large to understand the challenges individuals face when attempting to quit smoking.

Rehabilitation interventions hence require to be addressed to develop newer and effective methods that help in rehabilitating smokers and reduce the chances of lapses and relapses. There is need for further research to be conducted in future to establish the impact of social interventions that are effective for successful smoking cessation.

References

Asvat, Y., & King, A. (2014). Feasibility and effectiveness of a community-based smoking cessation intervention in a racially diverse, urban smoker cohort. American Journal of Public Health, 104(4), 620-627.

Burgess, D., & Sherman, S. (2014). Smoking cessation among African American and white smokers in the veterans affairs health care system. American Journal of Public Health, 104(4), 580-587.

Cooper, H., & Friedman, R. (2007). Residential segregation and injection drug use prevalence among black adults in US metropolitan areas. American Journal of Public Health, 97(2), 344-352.

Gritz, E., & Danysh, H. (2013). Long-term outcomes of a cell phone–delivered intervention for smokers living with HIV/AIDS. CID, 57(1), 608-615.

Larson, N., & Sydeman, S. (2013). Type D personality is not associated with coronary heart disease risk in a North American sample of retirement-aged adults. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 20(1), 277-285.

In my life it has often been the case that I would hear warnings about the dangers of substance abuse but would never realize the whole drama of the situation before I witnessed it myself. All the warnings I got from my parents or teachers or heard in TV programs on the negative effects of smoking made only mild impression on me. Surely I knew that smoking was unhealthy and led to addiction but I did not fully realize the dangers behind it until I encountered the issue on a daily basis. When my best college friend Jane started smoking, my eyes opened on the complex nature of the problem and on the multiple negative effects of smoking both on the smoker and on the surrounding society.

Actually, Jane was the last person I would have ever imagined smoking. Neat and tidy, she was always an excellent student and never wasted any time hanging around in the park or at discos with carefree youth. She would spend most of her time studying or learning to play the guitar — a skill she wanted to master in order to win the heart of a local lady-killer. In fact, the latter was partially to blame for Jane’s eventual weakness for the cigarette since it was due to his indifference that she started smoking, at least as she tried to convince me.

Apparently, the object of Jane’s admiration was so cold-blooded despite all her effort that the poor girl reached a desperate state when she tried her first cigarette. I did not know about my friend’s smoking experience at first and found out about it only when an occasional puff turned into a real addiction. Now and again Jane would disappear at recess without specifying where she was going; she looked more energetic when she came back, so I was starting to suspect something. Finally, I demanded an explanation from her and was totally disconcerted by what I heard: my friend was a smoker.

Since the day of Jane’s confession about her smoking habit my life turned into a series of weird days filled with smoke and worries. As I was initiated into my friend’s secret, I was automatically obliged to stand by her during her smoking sessions as a way of expressing my friendly support and compassion. And boy that was hard! At first I would cough and my eyes would be filled with tears because of the disgusting smell of the cigarettes Jane was smoking.

Although she would try not to puff the smoke in my direction, the nasty smell reached me and penetrated every fiber of my body. My clothes and hair were filled with smoke, and it even seemed to me that people thought it was me who smoked, not Jane. By and by I got used to my passive smoking routine and became so accustomed to our hourly smoking breaks that Jane’s decision to quit after two years of smoking came as a big surprise to me.

It was during the two years of Jane’s smoking that I fully realized the addictive powers of tobacco. Repeatedly standing by Jane several times a day while she was smoking, I inhaled the intoxicating smoke and gradually found myself at a state when I not disgusted by it any longer. Having heard Jane reiterating that cigarette helps her to relieve stress and gain agility, I even started to consider smoking as a good relaxing tactic for myself.

Happily enough, my body and mind protested at once against this ill-advised decision: as soon as I imagined the poisonous fumes enter my lungs and blood, any inclination towards smoking was over. When I recollect all the negative sensations I experienced during the time of my passive smoking, I realize that I would never forgive myself for giving in to the unhealthy practice of smoking. Already after a five-minute smoke inhalation I would feel my whole body polluted and my thinking abilities dimmed. In comparison, Jane reported increased activity levels and improved outlook after smoking a cigarette.

However, her general physical condition worsened, and she caught a cold much more often than at the time when she had not been smoking yet. In addition, I noticed that Jane’s company had changed: her old neat friends were substituted by a rowdy smoking crowd of people who were too messy to stir up any liking and too restless to develop any serious friendship with Jane. The girls from our college class did not know the true reasons for such an abrupt change in Jane’s sphere and therefore gradually developed a prejudice for her smoking habit and called her ‘gone to seed’. In spite of Jane’s optimistic attitude, I could not share her positive feelings since I was worried both about our health and about Jane’s reputation at college.

The first and foremost problem that prevented Jane — as well as many other smokers all around the world — from adequately considering all the risks she was taking as a smoker was her overly positive view of her smoking habit. In order to spare herself the trouble of considering all the negative consequences of smoking, Jane assumed a pseudo-positive attitude and replied to all my exhortations about the harmfulness of the habit by saying she had never felt so good before she started to smoke. Such attitude of certain escapism from the imminent health dangers is defined as “optimistic bias”, an “underestimation of the likelihood of experiencing a negative event”, and is quite often observed in smokers (Waltenbaugh 21).

It is remarkable that Jane demonstrated optimistic bias not only in her attitude to the possible health problems as compared to those of chain smokers but also in her firm belief that she could quit whenever she wanted. The latter attitude is also typical of optimistically biased smokers and constitutes a serious stumbling block on the way to overcoming tobacco addition.

However negative I was about Jane’s smoking routine, I could find a scientific explanation to the fact that she felt especial enthusiasm after a smoke break. Hundreds of millions of tobacco addicts yearn for the special “kick” they feel when they smoke a cigarette: nicotine stimulates the adrenal glands and extra adrenaline is discharged in the smokers’ body: “The rush of adrenaline stimulates the body and causes a sudden release of glucose, as well as an increase in blood pressure, respiration, and heart rate” (“Smoking Is Harmful to Human Health”). Seeking the desired burst of energy, tobacco smokers resort to cigarette again and again, and what was once an innocuous pastime turns into an enslaving addiction.

Apart from mere psychological addiction, smoking bears grave consequences for the body. Not only the lungs are polluted but “cigarette smoking harms every organ in the body” (“Tobacco Use Is Addictive and Harmful”). In addition to such major diseases as various kinds of cancer, bronchitis, emphysema, and asthma, smoking accounts for as much as twenty-one percent of the world’s coronary heart disease rates annually (“Tobacco Use Is Addictive and Harmful”).

Even thought Jane, as many other starting smokers, did not have any of the abovementioned diseases, she treated her health too thoughtlessly yet. Already in one-year smoking time, I could notice an obvious worsening of her overall fitness: she started to pant heavily when we needed to go up a flight of stairs. In addition, Jane’s immunity system did not demonstrate the best state as she caught a cold three times as often as she would normally do. Such worsening of her health state occurred just in one year of smoking and made me wonder: what would happen to the body after years and decades of tobacco addiction?

One of the most disturbing facts about the harm smoking causes to health is that not only the smoker’s body is affected but the bodies of the other people are harmed as well. It is not accidental that more and more countries are adopting bans on smoking in public places: the so-called second-hand smoking is enormously dangerous to public health:

“A growing body of evidence indicates that secondhand smoke causes lung cancer in lifetime nonsmokers, and that the disease process is similar to that of those who smoke. In addition, cardiovascular effects of secondhand smoke, while less than those experienced by smokers, are still significant. … other health effects still need to be explored.” (Carmona 22)

Even if cancer and cardiovascular disease take some time to appear, there also are some immediate negative impacts on one’s health during passive smoking. If Jane did not confine herself to one cigarette during her smoking breaks, I would often complain of headache and dizziness as a result of inhaling secondhand smoke. Consequently, I could not concentrate during classes as efficiently as I normally would after a walk in the fresh air.

Along with physical complaints, I also had some aesthetical considerations regarding Jane’s smoking. Whenever I came to visit her at her dormitory, her room would smell of smoke — and so would my clothes and hair afterwards.

This nasty stuffy air would haunt me till I washed it out of my garments. As it turns out, my dislike of the smell was not unfounded: “According to a growing number of experts, the harmful compounds in tobacco residue that get embedded in clothing, hair, furniture and almost any other exposed surface may still be active enough to cause health problems” (Park 66). Although the negative effects of such thirdhand smoke are nowadays researched with regard to young children, I would not be surprised if youth and adults were also affected by it.

Together with health considerations, Jane’s smoking habit arose the question of her social success and recognition. When our classmates discovered that she had started smoking, they demonstrated a change in their attitude. Jane was no longer recognized as an intellectual leader, and no one came up to her to ask for an explanation of especially tricky homework. Such situation is reflected in a current survey among nonsmokers who viewed smokers “as less intelligent, creative, independent, conscientious, ambitious, and considerate, as having poorer judgment, and as more hostile than their nonsmoking counterparts” (Baker 41-42).

Although no one openly spoke against Jane’s smoking, it was quite obvious that the class did not approve of this unhealthy practice. Their negative attitude to smoking became the more apparent when Jane finally succeeded in quitting: never before did she receive so many words of encouragement and support.

The social significance of smoking issue cannot be overestimated: smokers threat not only their own health but also the health of people around them. Therefore, a complex approach should be undertaken to help our society become healthier: not only legal regulations but also public support should be gained in order to introduce smoking regulations efficiently (Mehl, Winch, & Wipfli 57-58). Once social organizations unite their forces and spread information on the hazards of smoking among large sections of the public, the general awareness of the issue will give rise to a healthy movement all over the planet.

My friend’s smoking experience has shown me that the dramatic effects of smoking extend far beyond the smoker’s own body. Millions of innocent people are harmed by secondhand and even thirdhand smoking, sometimes without even being aware of it. Considering the enormous range of action that tobacco smoke has, it is vital that all of us join forces and inform each other about the smoking hazards.

Works Cited

Baker, Kathleen, et al. “The social hazards of smoking in academic contexts: students’ and teachers’ attitudes about student smokers.” Journal of Alcohol & Drug Education 50.3 (2006): 41-47. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web.

Carmona, Richard. “Secondhand Smoke Is a Serious Problem.” The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General (2006): 22-24. Rpt. in Tobacco and Smoking. Ed. Karen F. Balkin. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2004. Opposing Viewpoints. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web.

Mehl, Garrett, Peter Winch, and Heather Wipfli. “Controlling tobacco: the vital role of local communities.” Harvard International Review 27.1 (2005): 54-58. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web.

Park, Alice. “New Smoke Alarm.” Time. 2010: 66. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web.

“Smoking Is Harmful to Human Health.” Tobacco and Smoking. Ed. Karen F. Balkin. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Opposing Viewpoints. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web.

“Tobacco Use Is Addictive and Harmful.” Gateway Drugs. Ed. Noël Merino. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. Opposing Viewpoints. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web.

Waltenbaugh, Adam W., and Matthew J. Zagummy. “Optimistic bias and perceived control among cigarette smokers.” Journal of Alcohol & Drug Education 47.3 (2004): 20-33. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web.

While laws, regulations, and public information concerning tobacco smoking may have reduced the number of smokers in many countries, cigarette smoking is still one of the major threats for national health in Canada. Health promotion through workplace interventions has proven to be beneficial for helping smokers to quit the harmful habit. The present paper provides an evaluation of the Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) smoking cessation program from the viewpoint of the social cognitive theory and the theory of planned behavior.

VCH provides thorough information on its health promotion program for citizens of British Columbia. First, VCH addresses the issue of smoking by showing the advantages of discarding the harmful habit (“Tobacco cessation,” n.d.). Second, the website gives a hyperlink to access information about the BC smoking cessation program and informs the reader about the QuitNow helpline (“Tobacco cessation,” n.d.). Third, VCH offers a free 26-week smoking cessation program that provides nicotine replacement therapy and group counseling.

Moreover, the website gives contacts of the youth clinics to address the question of smoking among teenagers (“Tobacco cessation,” n.d.). VCH also describes the non-smoking environment of the health institution that is encouraged during the hospital stay. In brief, the VCH health promotion seems to be very helpful for smoking cessation.

Theoretical Basis

Before commencing the evaluation of the workplace health promotions, it is beneficial to state the theoretical basis of this paper. The first theory that may appear useful for workplace interventions concerning smoking is the social cognitive theory (SCT). SCT states that three main factors influence the likelihood of behavioral change: self-efficacy, goals, and outcome expectations (National Cancer Institute [NCI], 2005). The core of the theory is that personal factors, environment, and behavior affect one another (Martin et al., 2014).

SCT integrates five concepts: psychological determinants of behavior, observational learning, environmental determinants of behavior, self-regulation and moral disengagement (Harbin, 2016). Four determinants are fundamental to translating information into successful health practices. They are knowledge, perceived self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and perceived facilitators/impediments (Harbin, 2016).

If a person does not know what benefits a behavioral change may bring to his or her life, they will be unlikely to adopt it. Moreover, to discard the damaging habit, a person must have self-efficacy so that he or she is more self-motivated to continue developing the behavioral change through difficult times. Besides, people should be aware of internal and external results and outcomes of the habit and know the possible facilitators and impediments they might encounter. In conclusion, SCT states that the organization should reflect upon its collective values, beliefs, and purposes, as the company’s culture influences the personal behavior of its employees.

The second theory this paper is focusing on is the theory of planned behavior (TPB). In the last three decades, TPB has become one of the leading cognitive models to predict specific behaviors as it can explain many variances with fewer factors (Hukkelberg, Hagtvet, & Kovac, 2013). According to the theory, people acquire behavioral intention and then realize their attitude to it to see if they want to adopt the behavioral change. After that, the individuals apply their subjective norms to see if the key persons that matter agree or disapprove of the modifications in behavior.

TBP also states that the realization that their actions are under complete control can make people try harder to change their habits. As Hukkelberg et al.’s (2013) study show, TPB proved to be relevant for quitting smoking, as personal intentions, social norms, and regulations significantly influence smokers’ behavior. In short, TBP is transparent and straightforward for addressing smoking cessation in health promotion programs.

Critical Analysis

The Vancouver Coastal Smoking Cessation Program is briefly described in the introduction of the present paper and, from the first glance, is very helpful for smokers considering smoking cessation. While the program seems to be well-organized and theoretically justified, it has some evident flaws. According to the offered scheme, VCH adopted the theory of planned behavior as the primary approach to health promotion. The choice seems to be controversial, as the modern trend is shifting towards the social cognitive theory and the transtheoretical approach (Harbin, 2016).

VCH addresses the personal attitude of the reader by stating that “quitting smoking is the best thing you can do” (“Tobacco cessation,” para 12). This proclamation can also be related to expectations of the social cognitive theory; therefore, theoretically, providing the reader with this statement is justified and effective (Goetzel et al., 2014). However, the sole sentence at the end of the webpage does not seem to be enough to influence the personal attitude of the reader and provide a stimulus to quit smoking. In brief, the smokers not considering smoking cessation are left out; therefore, VCH might want to imply smoke-free lifestyle propaganda through their website.

Second, VCH provides links to British Columbia smoking cessation program and declares the program to be free for everyone. The fact that the future affiliates do not have to pay for the behavioral change they are going to accept adds to their self-efficacy, which is crucial for SCT. It also gives the participants a strong belief that they will be able to control the habit, as they do not need to doubt their ability to afford the program.

This fact is central according to TPB; therefore, drawing the reader’s attention to the non-existent cost of the program helps. Moreover, as Goetzel et al. (2014) point out, workplace health promotions are effective only if they are cost-efficient for the employer so that they can be sustained for an extended period. The government intervention into the money question of health promotions has become vital since 2008, as the global financial crisis forced all the enterprises to re-evaluate their commitment to social programs (Rootman, Pederson, Frohlich, & Dupéré, 2017). Thus, the fact that the BC government covers a part of the program makes the matter more effective.

Third, VCH gives phone numbers of health institutions that can provide help in smoking cessation. Among the offered services, Youth Clinics contacts are offered, which draws us to the question of the program orientation. The VCH smoking cessation program is meant for all age groups, including the youth, but mostly for individuals with low and medium income level. People with a higher income are more likely to address their family doctor or other trusted health provider (Canadian Institute for Health Information, 2016).

The policy seems to be rather weakly adapted for young people, as it provides little information on confidentiality of the program. It is common knowledge that the young generation often smoke without their parents knowing about it. Therefore, VCH needs to state that the implication to healthcare provider concerning smoking cessation is strictly confidential to make the intervention more relevant for the youth. At the present state, young people are not likely to apply for the program.

At the bottom of the page, VCH website states that the institution is both smoke- and vape-free. The policy positively influences the subjective norm of the smoker, which is important for TPB. NCI (2005) also states that the presence of things that make it easier to adopt a behavioral change affects perceived behavioral control. Thus, the fact that the hospitals do not allow smoking on their grounds is beneficial for the patients from the TPB viewpoint.

There are also some additional changes VCH may consider to incorporate into the program. First, individual strengths and possibilities can be drawn through creating psychotherapy groups where ex-smokers share their experience of smoking cessation. According to SCT, such activities add to the effectiveness of the approach by promoting behavioral capability, as ex-smokers show that the harmful habit can be controlled (Harbin, 2016). Second, the program may address smokers who have not yet considered smoking cessation by applying the transtheoretical model (Sarbandi, Niknami, Hidarnia, Hajizadeh, & Montazeri, 2013).

According to the theory, the VCH health promotion program does not influence smokers in their precontemplation stage. To address this audience, the program might consider providing personalized information about risks of the habit (NCI, 2005). Third, the program is available only in one language, which makes it inaccessible for non-English speakers; thus leaving out a considerable part of the Canadian population. To summarise, while offering appropriate help in smoking cessation, VCH health promotion program seems to lack several pivotal points.

Conclusion

Applying theoretical knowledge toward health promotion programs is not only rational but also crucial for its consistency and effectiveness (Harbin, 2016). The VCH smoking cessation program seems to be based upon the theory of planned behavior, as all the main concepts of it are covered. On the one hand, the interference is exceptionally beneficial for smokers with low and medium income. On the other hand, the program does not touch upon such questions as confidentiality and propaganda. Ultimately, VCH offers tremendous possibilities to assist smokers in quitting the harmful habit; however, some adjustments can be made to improve the quality of the health promotion.

References

Canadian Institute for Health Information. (2016). Trends in income-related health inequalities in Canada: Technical report. Web.

Goetzel, R., Henke, R., Tabrizi, M., Pelletier, K., Loeppke, R., Ballard, D., … & Metz, R. (2014). Do workplace health promotion (wellness) programs work? Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 56(9), 927-934.

Harbin, T. (2016). Evaluating workplace health promotion. Journal of Management Policies and Practices, 4(2), 1-10.

Hukkelberg, S., Hagtvet, K., & Kovac, V. (2013). Latent interaction effects in the theory of planned behaviour applied to quitting smoking. British Journal of Health Psychology, 19(1), 83-100.

Martin, C., Rivera, D., Riley, W., Hekler, E., Buman, M., … & King, A. (2014). A dynamical systems model of social cognitive theory, presented at 2014 American Control Conference, Portland, OR, 2014. 2407-2412.

National Cancer Institute. (2005). Theory at a glance: A guide for health promotion practice (2nd ed.). Web.

Rootman, I., Pederson, A., Frohlich, K. L. & Dupéré, S., (Eds.). (2017) Health promotion in Canada: Critical Perspectives on Theory, Practice, Policy, and Research (4th ed.). Toronto: Canadian Scholars’ Press Inc.

Sarbandi, F., Niknami, S., Hidarnia, A., Hajizadeh, E., & Montazeri, A. (2013). The transtheoretical model (TTM) questionnaire for smoking cessation: Psychometric properties of the Iranian version. BMC Public Health, 13(1), 1-6.

Tobacco cessation. (n.d.). Web.