Socio-Economic Approach to Smoking

Childhood asthma, SIDS and increased risk of respiratory infections all have known linkages to smoking, either first hand or second hand (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015).

Socio-economic model applied to smoking….

Individual level:

Behaviour Change Communication. This technique is used only at the individual level which take the form of an interpersonal conversations between individuals or families, social media posting or sharing of information (sometimes quite graphic) on interfaces such as Facebook or Twitter (Aronica).

Community Level:

Social Change is influenced by social norms, trends and generally acceptable behaviour (Aronica). By developing bylaws which limit where what age a person could be permitted to smoke, a more intolerant society is developed, essentially influencing an individual’s decision to either delay, or totally refrain from smoking in some situations. To further the recovery of addicted individuals, promotion of support groups and advertising of nicotine replacement products are often noted.

Organizational/Environment level:

Involves creating new policy or acts, such as the Tobacco and Smoking Reduction Act (2018) whereby individuals are limited to smoking in private residences and only once the legal age of majority. Additionally, this act eliminated the sale of flavoured tobacco and has restricted advertising for tobacco products (Statutes of Alberta, 2005). In order to comply with the Act, retailers must store their tobacco products behind a barrier, making them less visible; in an “out of sight, out of mind” kind of manner.

The obvious benefit of using a multilevel approach is to extend our view beyond an individual and appreciate the many sources of influence within their lives. When considering the treatment of preventable disease, it is important to continue our work on all levels of health in order to achieve our ultimate goal of population health (Galea, 2015).

Aronica, K. C. (n.d.). Core Principles of the Ecological Model. In Models and Mechanisms of Public Health.

Galea, S. (2015, May 31). The Determination of Health Across the Life Course and Across Levels of Influence.

Statutes of Alberta. (2005). Tobacco and Smoking Reduction Act.Retrieved from http://www.qp.alberta.ca/documents/Acts/T03P8.pdf