Overcoming the Challenge of Tobacco Use

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Introduction
Today one of our biggest challenges as public health professionals is tobacco use which is a leading cause of deaths that be prevented with public health campaign intervention programs. According to the American Lung Association (2010), 6.4 million current child smokers will die a premature death from a smoking-related disease. The campaign is working to give teenagers information on understanding the health risks associated with smoking and long-term health risk when they become adults. By using the support of different models on behavior following we can gain a better understanding on how and why adolescents respond the way they do to smoking. It is important that a campaign on tobacco and nicotine emphasizes awareness and knowledge use to educate this target audiences in the beginning years of their lives. They will understand how smoking impairs their health and growth. All adolescents should be conscious of their health and the reasons not to smoke.
The progression in reducing tobacco among youth and teenagers ages 12 to 18 has been slow; however, we still have far too many adolescent smokers. In this country alone, every day people are dying because of the health risks that are associated with smoking and nicotine addiction. “For each of those deaths, at least two youth or young adults become regular smokers each day and almost 90% of those replacement smokers, smoke their first cigarette by age 18” (Surgeon General, 2013, para 1-3). The prevention efforts of this tobacco cessation campaign will focus on the immediate and long-term health risks of smoking. We want to educate stakeholders on the development of this campaign for adolescents to include nicotine addiction which leads to health risks of h...

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...ing our children of today become tomorrow’s leaders.
The statistical data and research has shown us that there are many programs out there, but they are short-lived due to the lack of response. The tobacco and Hollywood media is winning this battle and taking our children with them. We have to engage with adolescents and find out how they stand on promoting quitting. The more they involved the more progress we will continue to make by discouraging them to begin smoking or seeking the counseling they need to help them quit. If we do not allow ourselves to get out there and promote the harmful dangers of smoking to these adolescents we will continue to lose the fight and lose them in the process. Let’s remember that trust and prevention is key when it comes to developing public health campaigns that involve such a young target audience if quitting is our goal.

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