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Issue Description
BRAND NEW LOOK!
It is well established that smoking affects an individual’s health, causing painful chronic illnesses such as lung cancer and emphysema. However, there are still an estimated 10 million smokers in Britain. What motivates people to start smoking? Should they be encouraged to quit? Is it acceptable for the government to prohibit smoking in public places to limit the effect of passive smoking, or is this an example of the “nanny state”? This book looks at the issues.
The information comes from a wide range of sources and includes government reports and statistics, newspaper reports, features, magazine articles and surveys, literature from lobby groups and charitable organisations.
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Key Facts
- The prevalence of cigarette smoking fell substantially in the 1970s and the early 1980s, from 45 per cent in 1974 to 35 per cent in 1982. The rate of decline then slowed. (page 1)
- About two-thirds of respondents who were either current smokers or who had smoked regularly at some time in their lives had started smoking before they were 18. (page 3)
- Every year, around 114,000 smokers in the UK die from smoking-related causes. About half of all regular cigarette smokers will eventually be killed by their addiction. (page 4)
- Experts agree that smoking is the single biggest cause of cancer in the world. Smoking causes over a quarter of cancer deaths in developed countries. (page 8)
- Smoking 20 a day for a year costs £1,825. (page 13)
- Research commissioned by ASH has shown that the cost to the NHS of treating diseases caused by smoking is approximately £2.7 billion a year. (page 22)
- Young people choose to smoke for their own personal desire and curiosity rather than because of the traditional concept of being forced into conforming with friends’ behaviour, a new study highlights. (page 27)
- One in four (28%) pregnant smokers would like to seek help to stop smoking but are worried about being judged. (page 30)
- 14% of pregnant women continue to smoke. (page 33)
- A new Plan report has revealed how child tobacco pickers in Malawi are being exposed to high levels of nicotine poisoning – the equivalent of 50 cigarettes per day. (page 39)
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Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Smoking and Health
Smoking among adults, 2008,Tobacco, Smoking and your lungs, Smoking and your heart, Tobacco, smoking and cancer: the evidence, Smokers putting their loved ones at risk of heart attacks, Under-18s guide to quitting, Attitudes of young smokers, Up in smoke!, How do I stop making excuses not to quit?, Most ex-smokers quit successfully without help, Smoking ‘worse for your health than being working class’, Roll-your-own cigarettes as deadly as ready-mades, Cigarette pack design gives misleading smoke signals, ‘More research’ needed into safety of electronic cigarettes.
Chapter 2 Smoking and Society
The economics of tobacco, Forever cool: the influence of smoking imagery on young people, Teenage smoking: it’s my choice not yours, Cigarette pack health warnings ‘could encourage people to keep smoking’, Social stigma prevents pregnant smokers seeking help to quit, War on smokers: the backlash, Now they’re giving up more than cigarettes, Why are we punishing smokers?, Child tobacco pickers poisoned, reveals report.
Key Facts
Glossary
Index
Additional Resources
Acknowledgements
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The Study Guide for: Tobacco and Health - Volume 188
Each book in the Issues series has a study guide. These four-page guides provide a variety of discussion points and other activities to suit a wide range of ability levels and interests.
Publisher: Independence Educational Publishers
Price: £1.95
ISBN: ISBN: 978 1 86168 545 2
