Topic Related to Public Health Issues – Smoking

Assessment for writing research-based assignment (task two)

Topic related to public health issues – smoking

Smoking is the biggest single preventable cause of disease and death in the UK, which makes stopping smoking a huge public health priority. In this assignment I will be analyzing data on smoking and evaluating the impact and consequences it has on the NHS.

The reason I have chosen to write about smoking is because of the consequences it has even on those who don’t smoke. Even though smoking rates are declining, 1 in 5 adults still smoke, there are around 90,000 regular smokers between the ages of 11 and 15, 17% of all deaths are caused by smoking and more than 100,000 people in the UK are living with debilitating smoking – related illness.

There is now a definite link between smoking and ill health, with smoking causing 90% of lung cancers and cancer in other parts of the body such as the throat, mouth, kidney, liver, stomach and many more, smoking also damages your heart and your blood circulation, increasing your risk of developing a coronary heart disease and having a heart attack or a stroke. Smoking also damages your lungs which can lead to conditions such as pneumonia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. You don’t even need to smoke to be at risk of ill health, passive smoking can cause just about the same health issues as normal smoking and even worse for babies and children. All these effects that’s that smoking has on people reinforces why stopping smoking is very important.

Gov public health England claims 60% of people who smoke start before the age of 18. Reasons can range from peer pressure or living with people who smoke. The best why to reduce the amount of young people smoking would be to reduce it in the world around them. This is why it is crucial that anyone can ask their gp about stopping smoking treatments, seek advice online from NHS choices or from the NHS smokefree helpline.

Following earlier implementation of similar legislation in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, smoking was banned in enclosed public places and workplaces in England from 1 July 2007 ( The London knowledge and intelligence team at public health England, 2013). I believe that this legislation helped start the decrease of smoking as The London knowledge and intelligence team at public health England state