literature review

Smoking and its Impact (A Literature Review

18 February 2008

Introduction

The World Health Organization says that smoking contributes to about four million deaths per year across the globe and about 11 ,000 people die worldwide each day from tobacco-related illnesses (Howard-Ruben 2004 . Department of Health and Ageing (2006 ) reveals that , In Australia , smoking is a key risk factor for the three diseases that cause most deaths : ischemic heart disease , cerebrovascular disease and lung cancer . Smokers are also at increased risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and reduced lung

function ' Aside from these physical ill effects of smoking , it is important to also note its psychosocial impact as smoking affects family , occupational , social or leisure functioning

This literature review shall explore on these as well as the effect of substance misuse to the health care system . This review will concentrate on Australia . It shall also focus on cigarette smoking as the form of substance abuse . Source of information shall mainly be journal articles and data from Australian-based surveys and studies

Smoking and Its Impact

According to Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2006 , 17 .7 percent of the Australian population aged 15 years and over smoked daily in 2005 . The number of Australian smokers is slightly higher than American smokers at 17 .0 percent but still low compared to Hungary and Netherlands with at least 30 percent smoking population . In terms of tobacco use , Australia consumed 1 ,315 grams per capita in 2005 , higher than United Kingdom 's 1 ,178 grams per capita , but lower than United States ' 1 ,452 grams per capita

For all the countries included in the study conducted on smoking by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD , it is notable that overall , both the number of smokers and tobacco consumption has declined from 1975 to 2005 . In Australia , daily smoking rates have declined by 40 percent between 1985 and 2004 . Also , 26 .4 percent of Australians have quit smoking , outnumbering the number of current smokers 17 .4 percent in 2004 (Better Health Australia 2007 . This trend , sadly , is seen only in developed countries , Australia included In low-income countries , tobacco use is becoming more extensive . Worse the poor would rather spend on tobacco than on their basic needs (World Health Organization 2008 . This creates a cycle of poverty , as the poor become even poorer . What may worsen this situation is illness , and in its worst case , death , caused by tobacco . In 1998 , 184 ,579 deaths have been attributed to tobacco alone . For men , the largest number of tobacco-related deaths are caused by cancer , which is responsible for around 43 of all male tobacco-related deaths . These cancer deaths are dominated by lung cancer , which accounts for 77 of male tobacco-related cancer deaths (Ridolfo and Stevenson 2001

The cigarette smoke itself contributes to illness conditions . It causes excessive mucus production , coughing , destruction of ciliary function and inflammation and damage of bronchiolar and alveolar walls . All these result to Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD . Coronary Heart Disease...