Anti-tobacco and tobacco cessation programs have been available for years and their success is apparent after a review of the declining numbers of people who smoke. Recent studies have provided information to these programs to determine if changes in the programs should be made. The level of education of a person plays an important role in the initial decision to smoke, as well as smoking cessation.
Significance
In 2010, the national goal for the incidence of smoking is less than 12 percent. The reality is the percentage of adult smokers has stalled over the last two years at 20.8 percent. The user rate had been slowly declining since 1997, and has dropped significantly since it was first recorded in 1965. A reduction in government spending at the state level for tobacco control and prevention between 2002 and 2006 may be to blame for the recent stagnation.
Effects Of Education On Smoking
A report published in "The Journal of Health Economics" studied whether or not education effected a person's choice to begin smoking. The highest incidence of smoking occurs in groups who'd earned a General Education Development diploma or were living below the poverty level. Each additional year of education reduces the risk of smoking by 10 percent. A precise explanation for the lower incidence of smoking in groups with higher education has not been determined.
Effects Of Education On Cessation
Smoking cessation appears to be effected by level of education, also. The Institute for The Study of Labor in Bonn, Germany released a study revealing that for each additional year of education the length of smoking was reduced by nine months. Between the years 2005 and 2008 the incidence of cessation was more than three times higher for college educated smokers than for those who had never gotten a high school diploma. All data suggests that people with higher education may be able to better understand the health implications of long-term smoking; and may have resources to help them quit more available.
Effects Of Parental Education On Kids
The influence of parents on their children's decisions whether to smoke or not depends on many variables. The two most significant variables are the level of education of parents and household income, which are often connected. The risk of an adolescent starting to smoke is 28 percent higher with each level lower in parent education. Annual household income also impacts the choice to smoke, with higher incidence of smoking coinciding with each step lower in household income.
Prevention/Solution
Administrators of programs already in place to educate people about the dangers of smoking should consider enlarging their resources to lower socioeconomic populations. Those groups whose education is at the high school diploma level or below are often in the same group with lower annual household income. These two variables have significant impact on the national smoking rate. Anti-tobacco programs may have to become mobile, moving throughout neighborhoods educating people and offering cessation resources.
References
- CDC Cigarette Smoking Among Adults -- United States 2006
- "The Institute for The Study of Labor"; The Effect of Education on Smoking Behavior ... ; Koning, P. et al. ; March; 2010
- "Journal of Health Economics"; The hazard of starting smoking: estimates from a split population duration model. Douglas S, Hariharan G.; July; 1994
- National Survey on Drug Use and Health
- "American Journal of Public Health"; Parent's Socioeconomic Status,...; DiFranza,J. et al; July; 2003
