PA006 Assignment Part 1 Global Health Comparison Grid Template

Global Healthcare Issue

Tobacco Use and Control

Description

The use of tobacco and smoking is among the major causes of diseases and untimely deaths in the world community. It is associated with such diseases as lung cancer, heart disease, strokes, and respiratory illness, among others. The anti-smoking interventions can be helpful both in decreasing tobacco product intake and the deaths caused by the products.

Country

United States

Canada

Describe the policy in each country related to the identified healthcare issue.

The US has embraced the following tobacco control policies, with the latest one being the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009 (CDC, 2021). This act permits the FDA to establish the norms of the regulation of tobacco and its application by restricting advertising, warning labeling, and restricting ingredients.

Tobacco control policies have been embraced in Canada under the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act (TVPA) (2018). The TVPA deals with the manufacture, distribution, branding/identification, and advertising of the tobacco products and vaping devices (Tobacco Control Laws, 2023). In addition, as part of the effort to minimize consumption of tobacco products, Canada has instituted plain packaging legislation and graphic warnings.

Explain the strengths and weaknesses of each policy.

Strengths:

Strict advertising and marketing regulations are important in the demystification of the appeal of tobacco products, particularly among young people in society (Tam et al., 2018). Sale restrictions are aimed at preventing the sale of goods to young people to limit the smoking habit and nicotine addiction among the youth. The printed health warnings on the wrapping contribute to increasing the level of consciousness of the masses on the dangers of smoking.

 Weaknesses:

The implementation and enforcement disparities by the states are a challenge to tobacco regulation and control initiatives (Tam et al., 2018). This means that there is a political presence of the tobacco industry in the process of policy-making, which will slow down the progress of policy reforms that are intended to introduce stricter standards.

Strengths:

 Plain packaging legislation lowers the degree of attractiveness of tobacco products and therefore renders the product unattractive to the market (Amri, 2020). Outright prohibition of advertisement is a good way of discouraging tobacco products, particularly among the youth and the susceptible.

More advertising on anti-smoking and promotion of smoking-quit campaigns.

Graphic health warnings are effective in reminding people about the dangers of smoking.

 Weaknesses:

Adherence to a range of regulations, in turn, may be quite a complex procedure and may consume many resources and time (Amri, 2020). The consumption of vaping products has come into existence, which brings new dimensions of regulation.

It may always be the case that the tobacco companies get out of certain regulations or seek some means of evading the implementation of the same.

Explain how the social determinants of health may impact the global healthcare issue you selected. Be specific and provide examples.

Socioeconomic Status: Individuals in the low-income bracket and dependents would be more likely to smoke as they are stressed to afford the basic needs, in addition to the low price of cigarettes (Flor et al., 2021).

 Education: Lack of awareness of the risks associated with the use of tobacco products is prevalent among individuals with low levels of education, thus the high rates of smoking.

Example: The poorer areas are the ones that smoke more and thus, lead to increased health inequality.

Socioeconomic Status: The smoking prevalence generally has a direct correlation with the income level, or to put it another way, the low-income groups are more likely to smoke because of the rise in stress level, and cultural acceptance of smoking.

 Education: Such a high incidence of smoking is attributed to low education levels, people’s inability to appreciate the impact of tobacco on their health.

Indigenous Populations (Gravely et al., 2023): Generally, Aboriginal people, like the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis, have higher smoking rates because of historical and social factors.

Example: The abovementioned populations should be given more attention, and their peculiarities in smoking-cessation interventions should be taken into consideration.

Analyze how each country’s government addressed cost, quality, and access related to the global healthcare issue selected.

Cost: The federal and state governments impose taxes on tobacco products to deter the use of the products, besides raising funds to fund health-related causes.

Quality: FDA regulation means that tobacco products are safe, hence reducing the usage of harmful substances.

Access: Goals and objectives are aimed at eradicating tobacco accessibility, especially to the youths by limiting access to the tobacco products on the basis of affordability and availability.

Cost: The Canadian government has introduced high taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco products with an aim of minimizing cigarette smoking among the citizens and as a source of revenue to be used in the implementation of health reforms.

Quality: Strenuous measures ensure that the production of tobacco does not have dangerous chemical combinations; the products are therefore safe to use.

Access: The regulations decrease access to tobacco products through retail interventions and smoking bans in the settings. Cessation programs are also spread in an attempt to reach out to the people who need to be helped to quit smoking.

Explain how the healthcare policy you selected might impact the global population. Be specific and provide examples.

The decreased use of tobacco in the U.S means that the global community will experience fewer cases of tobacco-related diseases, which will be because of other countries following the same path of reduction that the U.S has led (Erinoso et al., 2020). To illustrate, the existing policies in the United States concerning standards and regulations can help other nations adopt the same, consequently enhancing global tobacco control.

The firm actions taken by the Canadian government on regulating the usage of tobacco products is the right kind of example that other nations should follow because it advocates more actions than the loosely strict measures (Gravely et al., 2023). Indicatively, the introduction of plain packaging laws in other nations that are also following the Canadian case in combating tobacco smoking also contributes. Moreover, other countries can also follow the example of lowering the popularity of cigarettes with the assistance of high taxes and prohibition campaigns in Canada.

Explain how the healthcare policy you selected might impact the role of the nurse in each country.

The nurses are also able to request increased control of tobacco, etc., and participate in creating awareness of the impact of consuming tobacco (Milstead & Short, 2019). As an illustration, Nurses working in positions in the community health sector can be at the forefront to urge smokers to quit and create awareness on the negative effects of consuming tobacco.

The nurses operate extensively in the community to inform them about various issues that revolve around smoking, and as such, smoking rates can be reduced effectively by the profession (Corless et al., 2018). As an illustration, surprisingly, nurses can provide support to the smoking cessation process and provide material to support the avoidance of the habit. They can also insist that the government establish the holistic measures of tobacco control and participate in the campaign of promoting public health, considering the perniciousness of smoking.

Explain how global health issues impact local healthcare organizations and policies in both countries. Be specific and provide examples.

The local health organization policies can be aligned with those used in the country, which are trying to help fight the use of tobacco products and ensure a better health condition of the population (Milstead & Short, 2019). As an illustration, Local health departments can participate in quitting smoking and promote no-smoking areas all over the places.

One should also understand that the government of Canada promotes the idea that local health organizations must support tobacco control activities and make settings tobacco-free (Corless et al., 2018). Indicatively, Hospitals and clinics have no-smoking policies, and they provide smoking-quit services to patients. Indicatively, local health departments will tend to follow the same policies already implemented at the national level to address the problem of tobacco usage, and they will go far in eliminating unhealthy habits among people.

General Notes/Comments

The current U. S. tobacco control policies have turned out to be handy in the decline of the prevalence of smoking, albeit with a few challenges that one throws into concern with, the implementation of the policies, and the industry effect. Part of the recommendations made involves conducting advocacy to come up with additional messages that would promote non-use of tobacco so as to improve health.

Canada has implemented several policies to tackle the problem of tobacco, and they have been reported to be very effective, but the following challenges hinder the effectiveness of the policies; The costs of implementing the policies and the new problem of vaping products. Further work in the field should pertain to further education and encouragement of the population on the topic of smoking cessation in the future. Nurses play an important role in such activities since they provide information, support, and lobby at the community level.