Tobacco use entails the habitual application of the tobacco plant leaf or its products. The use of tobacco and its products can be broadly classified into two categories: inhaled tobacco and smokeless tobacco. Inhaled tobacco encompasses the tobacco taken via pipes such as hookah or through cigars and cigarettes such as e-cigarettes. On the other hand, smokeless tobacco entails tobacco products taken through chewing, sucking, or sniffing. Between the two types of tobacco usage, inhaled tobacco constitutes the predominant method through which most individuals use tobacco (Gallucci et al., 2020). The following paper identifies a population affected mainly by tobacco usage and outlines some of the public health practices that can be applied to help individuals in this category quit tobacco usage.
In the US, the population of tobacco users possesses particular demography. Based on age, the population of tobacco users is prevalent among people aged 25 to 44 years, the majority of them being males (Lindson et al.,2019). The single or unmarried Non-Hispanic American Indians constitute the leading tobacco users compared to other races in the country. Most tobacco users live in West Virginia, which is the leading state in terms of tobacco usage. Additionally, this population has been identified to live in households receiving less than $20000 annually. The majority of the individuals either lack a diploma or have General Education Development (GED) only (Lindson et al.,2019). Professionally, individuals in this group have either lost their jobs, are unemployed, or retired (Lindson et al.,2019). Lastly, the lifestyle of this population is made up of poor nutritional intake where they often take fewer fruits and vegetables and more salty and sugary foods, predisposing them to diseases like diabetes.
This activity uses single or never married Non-Hispanic individuals as the hypothetical smoking group. This group records the highest tobacco users compared to those males of other ethnic groups. Characteristically, the males in this group show that singlehood is related to loneliness, with some showing dissatisfaction in their relationships. Comparing these individuals with the divorced smoking males of the same race, the single or never married show high psychological distress despite some reporting negative feelings related to disconnection or isolation. Most people in this category report using tobacco as an alternative to these prevailing conditions, such as negative feelings, which some struggle to cope with (Villanti et al., 2020). By using the male single or Never married Non-Hispanic as the study group, we can identify some of the factors that push tobacco users to use tobacco and possibly develop the best health promotion plan to help the general population of smokers.
Most male single or never married Non-Hispanic individuals report getting involved with tobacco usage due to the prevailing conditions. Increased loneliness or relationship dissatisfaction among the population suggest the leading predisposing factor to smoking. Most individuals in this group report turning to smoke to keep themselves busy or avoid feeling lonely. Additionally, most individuals have psychological distress that often probes them to use tobacco to keep them calm. In another instance, it was indicated that the need to cope with negative feelings of disconnection or isolation pushed most of these individuals to use tobacco products such as e-cigarettes. These conditions indicate that the target group has poor social, emotional and mental health and a weak stance towards pursuing a healthy life. A health education plan empowers individuals who lack knowledge and skills to stay healthier. In this case, the single or never married Non-Hispanic males epitomize such individuals, making them the proper beneficiaries of the plan.
A sociogram constitutes inter-relating factors that can help a health practitioner better understand a problem. Social factors affecting health are an example of the components of a sociogram and involve aspects such as poverty, inequality in access to healthcare, stigmatization, and lack of education. Additionally, a sociogram can constitute economic factors influencing health, such as education, income, and employment. Along with economic factors, cultural aspects of a group based on health, such as beliefs of disease etiology and health promotion approaches, are an essential constituent of a sociogram (Gallucci et al., 2020). Generally, a sociogram on health education plan should constitute the social, economic, and cultural aspects based on health.
The potential learning needs for this hypothetical group entails understanding the dangers of smoking and the benefits of quitting smoking. This group needs to be enlightened on tobacco usage and understand that smoking and other tobacco intake methods can lead to stroke, heart disease, diabetes, and even emphysema. Additionally, the group should acknowledge that tobacco usage affects their health and those around them, especially secondhand smoking among non-smokers. The benefits of quitting smoking are that these individuals need to learn to reduce the risk of contracting respiratory complications such as chronic bronchitis (Gallucci et al., 2020). The plan collaborates with their health needs through the SMART goals scheme for this population to effectively learn how to quit tobacco usage. The following table shows SMART goals for the health education plan.
Inconclusively, the current behaviors of the hypothetical group facilitate the group’s involvement in tobacco usage. Most men in this category allow stress to overcome them by staying alone in their houses or compounds. Additionally, individuals in this group interact with other tobacco users, such as smokers; this propagates the behavior. Another behavior is quenching cravings, where most individuals in this group often go for a cigarette or other tobacco products to satisfy their craving. Some of the ways that the needs of the individuals in this group can be met include offering in-person support through coaches and educational materials such as pamphlets on the dangers of smoking especially to those who can read and write. Other ways include encouraging them to avoid triggers through self-alienation from tobacco-prone areas and motivating them to explore engaging activities like swimming that reduce stress levels caused by feeling lonely. This health promotion education expects these individuals to possess problem-solving skills to enable them to change their current behaviors and receive support from those close to them.
References
Gallucci, G., Tartarone, A., Lerose, R., Lalinga, A. V., & Capobianco, A. M. (2020). Cardiovascular risk of smoking and benefits of smoking cessation. Journal of Thoracic Disease, 12(7), 3866.
Lindson, N., Thompson, T. P., Ferrey, A., Lambert, J. D., & Aveyard, P. (2019). Motivational interviewing for smoking cessation. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (7).
Villanti, A. C., West, J. C., Klemperer, E. M., Graham, A. L., Mays, D., Mermelstein, R. J., & Higgins, S. T. (2020). Smoking-cessation interventions for US young adults: an updated systematic review. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 59(1), 123-136.