PC40019W Using Evidence in Health Promotion and Public Health Report 2022

Running head: SUMMATIVE 2
PC40019W Using Evidence in Health Promotion and Public Health
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

SUMMATIVE 21
Introduction- Tobacco smoking epidemic has been identified as one of the most chief
public health threats that are prevalent on a global basis and is responsible for the death of
around 8 million individuals (Banks et al. 2015). Reports suggest that 7 million of the
aforementioned deaths are a direct consequence of direct consumption of tobacco, while
roughly 1.2 million deaths occur due to the exposure of non-smokers to second-hand smoke.
In addition, an estimated 80% of the total 1.1 billion smokers on global scale are found to
reside in middle and low-income nations, where thus providing evidence for the highest
burden of tobacco-associated illness and deaths (World Health Organization 2019). In
addition, tobacco consumption is also associated to poverty since it diverts the domestic
expenditure from elementary needs such as shelter and food to tobacco. Hence, this
expenditure related behaviour is problematic to control owing to the addictive nature of
tobacco consumption. This essay will conduct a search for this public health evidence and
will elaborate on the search strategy used for extraction of articles. This will be followed by a
critical analysis of one article that has been considered most appropriate to the research
problem.
Importance of evidence in public health- The instantaneous and short-term
adversative health impacts of tobacco smoking are less probably to be directly lethal, when
compared to the long-term health impacts (Cantrell et al. 2015). Nonetheless, they are
significant public health indicators owing to their role in resulting in a suboptimal health
during the course of the life of smokers. The short-term negative health impacts that can be
attributed to tobacco smoking are generally observed amid smokers either instantaneously or
soon after exposure to nicotine (Hess, Lachireddy and Capon 2016). The health impacts of
tobacco smoking therefore originate at or near the age of beginning of tobacco smoking,
which in turn is typically during adolescence. In addition, a predominantly susceptible time
for both the foetus and the mother, in the course of their life is during pregnancy, and the

SUMMATIVE 22
ensuing months for the infant. It has been found that tobacco smoke comprises of not less
than 7,000 chemicals, which when inhaled, result in an exposure of the smokers to different
toxins, thus affecting their health (Douglas et al. 2018). Furthermore, the ultimate harm that
occurs due to exposure to tobacco smoke comprises of physiologic disadvantage, absenteeism
from work, poor self-reported health, and susceptibility to respiratory disorder (Lydon‐Staley
and Geier 2018). In addition, the immediate impacts of smoking on health includes increased
inflammation, impairment in immune status, nicotine addiction, coughing, phlegm, dyspnoea,
altered lipid profile, and depletion of antioxidant micronutrients. This calls for the need of
quitting tobacco consumption.
Research evidences suggest the smoking cessation significantly decreases the risks of
developing different chronic diseases and also helps in effective treatment of tobacco or
nicotine dependence (Bonnie, Stratton and Kwan 2015). The term spirometry translates to
measurement of the breath of a person and is used to denote a lung function test that is
commonly recommended for patients who have been diagnosed with pulmonary problems.
This procedure helps in lung assessment, in relation to the flow and volume of air that is
inhaled and exhaled by an individual (Koltowski et al. 2019). The results obtained are
represented in form of a pneumotachograph that helps in assessment and diagnosis of
particular respiratory conditions such as, bronchitis, COPD, asthma, and pulmonary fibrosis.
The research question for this assignment is given below:
Does dissemination of spirometry results help in smoking cessation?
Search strategy- With the aim of searching articles that are relevant to the research
question stated above, two electronic databases namely, CINAHL and PubMed were
extensively searched. The search terms that were fed in the databases for article extraction
were namely, smoking, cessation, spirometry, dynamic spirometry, facilitate, promote,