Priorities to Improve Public Health: Reducing Smoking in Lambeth

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PRIORITIES TO IMPROVE PUBLIC HEALTH
Introduction
In attempts to assist meet the future health challenges in England, the Public Health
England has subsequently drawn up a range of areas health providers can emphasize on to
impact public health positively (Bennett 2015). An aging England population alongside
technological advancement remain important variables threatening the NHS sustainability. A list
of 7 priorities has thus been drawn by the Public Health England to combat such problems. It is
believed that if these seven priorities are well addressed, they will substantially enhance the
mental and physical health of the English population over the coming ten years hence decreasing
the health service pressure (Bennett 2015). This paper highlights the seven priorities and selects
one (reducing smoking) to delve deep and what the nurses can do to assist in the delivery of the
priority selected at such levels as a community, nation, and individual (England N.H.S. 2017).
The seven priorities established by the PHE (2014) remain anchored on the assessment
and evidence of such areas in highest needs for improvement over the coming five to ten years.
Such priorities are aiming at: tackling obesity, especially for children; reducing smoking
(chosen for a deeper discussion); reducing harm from alcohol; securing the best begging in life
for kids to address the broader determinants of good health; transforming a generation’s
dementia risk; addressing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and; achieving decrease in the
incidence of tuberculosis. Reducing smoking ambition is chosen because without it, the people
will be suffering endless from the associated illnesses.
Among the areas of London, the focus will be on Lambeth. The region has registered a
high number of youths that engage in various types of smoking. In comparison to others, the
locality has 22% of the total child as either partial smokers or permanent smokers. This is

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according to research carried out by Dr. Richard Kenton. The region has also registered a lot of
patients in the local hospitals who are affected directly by diseases caused by excessive smoking.
This, therefore, helps to understand why the essay focuses on the locality even more (Quinn and
Morris 2017). Finance; the locality being affected is very massive. The people affected are also a
considerable population. These, therefore, require a lot of funds in rolling out the program. The
groups, therefore, do not receive the funding that can help control smoking. The locality is also
made up of people living within low standards. They, therefore, expect that, while rehabilitating
them, their living standards are improved (Illingworth and Chelvanayagam 2017). The UK state
government can only make the improvements. Therefore funding becomes a significant
challenge in implementing the ambition. The public health program should also organize mass
education program. The program should focus on men being the group that is affected most.
These will see the men change their lifestyle.
Issues of London Locality:
Variables that determine health for smoking
The primary variables that determine health for reducing smoking include;
Social support. The friends and associates of a person influence their decision. It is difficult to
minimize smoking if everyone around the society will live in, does smoke. In Lambeth society,
the young seem to be copying the adults. The influence, therefore, makes many young people
begin smoking (Axfor et al. 2018). The culture presents smoking as a “cool’ thing to do. The
young people, therefore, smoke to fit into the culture (Bennett 2015).
Education. Most of the young people do not know the effects of smoking. They,
therefore, need to be taught on the impact of smoking on their health and their lives. When they

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are educated on the same. They are less likely to engage in smoking (Brose, Hitchman, Brown,
West and McNeill 2015).
Gender. Most of the men in the society engage in active smoking than women. Research has
shown that half the number of women who participate in smoking to the number of men (Ekpu
and Brown 2015). The hospital records also have men admitted for smoking illness than women.
The ambition, therefore, has to focus on men while reducing smoking than men (Brown et al.
2016).
Impact of inequality on health for reducing smoking.
The inequalities identified in the locality about reducing smoking are;
Poor employment. Most of the adults in the area are employed. They, therefore, do not
have time to engage in what their youth children participate in (England 2016). This has led to
many youths getting into smoking addition. Since they know, there are not being monitored.
Low income; the people living in this area, most of them are employed in low-income
jobs. When they are unable to meet all their needs, they engage in other behaviors. One of this
behaviors is smoking. Smoking, therefore, is in the rises in a low-income area like Lambeth.
Inadequate health education (England, N.H.S. 2017). The number of health facilities in Lambeth
is too small so that they can multitask. It is impossible to serve patients their needs while at the
same time organizing for community services that educate young people about the effects of
smoking. In this case, one will be compromised over the other. Therefore inadequate health
facilities lead to increased rates of smoking in the area (Frazer et al. 2016). The health facilities,
therefore, create an inequality.
Challenges facing reducing smoking in the UK and Lambeth.
Starting young