Health Dangers Of Smoking Research Articles

KNOWLEDGE AND BELIEF: IMPLICATION FOR SMOKING PATTERN AMONG FIRSTHAND SMOKERS IN CALABAR AND UYO SOUTH, NIGERIA

Smoking has remained a popular behavior among humans even in the 21 st century despite the several legitimate warnings against the practice. The study seeks to find out the relationship the between knowledge, belief and smoking pattern among firsthand smokers in Calabar and Uyo Metropolis, South, South, Nigeria. To achieve this, the study adopts the descriptive survey design with the snowballing sampling technique to secure data through questionnaire from the 376 respondents which constitutes its sample. The study found no significant relationship between knowledge and smoking pattern, but a significant relationship between belief and smoking pattern. In addition, the study found that Arizona is the most smoked substance in the study area. Hence, it is recommended that the production and circulation of smoked substances particularly the outlawed ones should be diligently checked with due sincerity by Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency and its affiliates. Also, campaign against smoking should be targeted towards convincing the populace about the health dangers of smoking rather than just informing them.

THE USE OF PICTORIAL DISCOURSE FOR HEALTH WARNINGS ON THE DANGERS OF TOBACCO PACKAGES (PENGGUNAAN WACANA GAMBAR SEBAGAI PERINGATAN KESEHATAN TENTANG BAHAYA MEROKOK)

The Indonesian government promotes discourse on the health dangers of smoking by pasting pictures on cigarette packages to reduce the number of smokers in Indonesia. Therefore, this research uses pictorial discourse on cigarette packaging to provide health warning messages to smokers of kretek packaged cigarettes. This is portrait research with data obtained through observations at the Kretek Museum, Kudus, Central Java, and the Ministry of Health followingRegulation Number 56 of 2017 and analyzed using the BREAK theory. Based on the data and analysis, the primary and secondary discourses use scary images as well as pictures of fruits and plants, respectively. The general type of movement of primary and secondary discourse is DIKO (essence divergent and spiritually convergent)

Menthol cigarettes and smoking cessation behaviour: a review of tobacco industry documents

ObjectiveTo determine what the tobacco industry knew about menthol's relation to smoking cessation behaviour.MethodsA snowball sampling design was used to systematically search the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library (LTDL) (http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu) between...

Martina Pötschke-Langer

Finally, I spot Martina Pötschke-Langer among the travellers pouring out of the express train at Hamburg's main train station. A friendly smile across her face, she's pulling a rickety little roller suitcase. She looks harmless, not like the worst enemy of big tobacco companies in Germany, until last year a smokers' paradise with little respect for non-smokers' rights. Pötschke-Langer, head of the Cancer Prevention Division at the Heidelberg-based German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ) and WHO's Collaborating Centre for Tobacco Control, wants fish before travelling on to Berlin. We stroll toward a popular restaurant. She points to huge sun umbrellas at a side-walk cafe, each splattered with the words Philip Morris. “You see this sort of tobacco marketing everywhere in Germany”, she says. “That is the major problem.” Inside, awaiting our fish, I mention my amazement at the ability of German non-smokers to have silently endured restaurant smoke for so long. “The problem”, I suggest, is a “German cultural thing”. “Noooo”, says Pötschke-Langer, who trained as a surgeon. She explains Germany is Europe's biggest tobacco market. Tobacco companies invest heavily to foster positive press coverage and political support: “We are speaking about billions of Euros less for them if our work is successful”, she says. “Culture can be changed, like Ireland, like Italy”, both with tough laws on smoking. And after much hard work by Pötschke-Langer and her colleagues smoking culture is finally changing in Germany. Prodded by the federal government, Germany's 16 states now have laws on smoking. “I am very proud of this”, she says. But she is not done yet. Noting that state laws vary widely, her next goal is a tough uniform federal smoking law. She also wants holdouts Austria and Greece to pass laws. “Greece is awful. A majority of doctors smoke in Greece.” As we enjoy fish, I ask about her background. She was born in the former East Germany. During World War II, her 2-year-old sister, grandparents, aunt, and other family members died in the bombing of Dresden. Later, her family fled to West Germany. Her father, a heavy smoker, died of lung cancer. But she is reticent about her own motivations: “Oh, I hate personal questions”. Why? “I want to protect myself and my family”—she and her husband have three sons. As we return to the train station, she talks of her work: “It is in my heart. My heart is woven around this mission.” With a dozen staff members, Pötschke-Langer sees her main duty as educating the public about the health dangers of smoking. Despite her tough stand, she claims never to have asked a nearby smoker to put out a cigarette. “I fight for laws, don't waste my energy on private details.”

Are smokers adequately informed about the health risks of smoking and medicinal nicotine?

The present study assessed smokers' beliefs about the health risks of smoking and the benefits of smoking filtered and low-tar cigarettes, and their awareness of and interest in trying so-called reduced-risk tobacco products. Results were based on a nationally representative random-digit-dialed telephone survey of 1,046 adult (aged 18 years or older) current cigarette smokers. Data were gathered on demographic characteristics, tobacco use behaviors, awareness and use of nicotine medications, beliefs about the health risks of smoking, content of smoke and design features of cigarettes, and the safety and efficacy of nicotine medications. In addition, respondents were asked about their interest in and perceived ability to stop smoking and about their desire for more information about the health risks of smoking. Smokers were least knowledgeable about low-tar and filter cigarettes (65% of responses were incorrect or "don't know") and most knowledgeable about the health risks of smoking (39% of responses were incorrect or "don't know"). The smokers' characteristics most commonly associated with misinformation when all six indices were combined into a summary index were as follows: those aged 45 years or older, smokers of ultralight cigarettes, smokers who believe they will stop smoking before they experience a serious health problem caused by smoking, smokers who have never used a stop-smoking medication, and smokers with a lower education level. Those who believed they would stop smoking in the next year were more knowledgeable about smoking. Some 77% of respondents reported a desire for additional information from tobacco companies on the health dangers of smoking. The present findings demonstrate that smokers are misinformed about many aspects of the cigarettes they smoke and stop-smoking medications and that they want more information about ways to reduce their health risks.

Midwife Attitudes and Advice to Pregnant Smokers

Midwives (N = 138, response rate = 51%) from two regions (SW England and London/SE England) responded to a questionnaire designed to assess (a) their attitudes to giving anti-smoking advice to pregnant smokers, and whether they perceived this as part of their professional role; and (b) the types of advice they gave to pregnant smokers as part of their routine practice. Midwives' own smoking status was also recorded. Attitudes towards giving anti-smoking advice were generally positive, and almost all reported routinely explaining the health dangers of smoking to pregnant smokers. Midwives who had never smoked (63%) reported attitudes and behaviour which did not differ significantly on average from those of the remainder of the sample. Overall, those who gave more anti-smoking advice also perceived this to be a more important part of their professional role. The form of this relationship depended somewhat on midwives' own smoking status. Among midwives who had never smoked, those who held role attitudes tha...