Smoking as a Social Determinant of Health Inequality in Lambeth

1
Smoking As a Social Determinant of Health Inequality
Name:
Institution:

2
Introduction
Tobacco smoking is estimated to be among the the highest single cause of poor health and
preventable early death in Lambeth (Amroussia et al 2017). In fact, according to Berkman
(2009), tobacco-related deaths; from vascular diseases and cancer are estimated to be quite high
in Lambeth as because it is among the densely populated boroughs in England and such deaths
are encountered by both men than women. This report aims to evaluate the tobacco smoking as a
social determinant of health in Lambeth. In doing so, there will be an analysis of the borough’s
demographic profile in relation to smoking, and the health inequalities they are is exposed to as a
result of smoking. The report will also highlight the policy issues related to tobacco smoking in
Lambeth before identifying the tobacco-targeted health provisions in the borough.
Social Determinants of Health
Social determinants of health (SDH) are defined as socioeconomic factors that dictate a person’s
health and well-being status (Chapman 2010). The author proposes that SDH may include: socio-
economic status (SES)/income, education, smoking/drug abuse or gender. Studies by WHO have
largely reported a positive correlation between a population’s SES and their health status – in the
sense that the lower the SES of a community the poorer health conditions they are exposed to
(Chapman 2010). Erwat et al (2017) also comment that several theories have attempted to
explain the relationship between SES and health inequality, but a majority of them indicate
poorer families are exposed unhealthy living environments, deprived clinical services and poor
health behaviour that contributes to poorer health conditions than those with better SES.

3
Literacy and education have also been mentioned by many scholastic studies (Finn et al 2017;
Goli et al 2017; Goldblatt 2016 and Haafkens et al 2014) to be a great determinant of health and
well-being. For instance, House (2016) claim that educated people tend to have more income
which enables them to tackle most of the health challenges they encounter. Iqbal & Nawaz
(2017) also write that educated people tend to understand normal life safety and health
precautions enabling them to maintain good health than uneducated people. Hence, at is emerges
from these authors, better education exposes one to better health and well-being while illiteracy
exposes one to health risks.
Gender is also a social determinant of health. Studies by Jayasinghe (2015) show that women,
especially those living in patriarchal (Although not experienced in Lambeth) societies where
gender-based social discrimination is practiced experience more health-related challenges than
their male counterparts. This is partly because they fail to receive much attention in response to
the health issues facing them (Marmot 2005). Murty et al (2009) also argue that such women are
deprived the opportunity to make important health decisions, a phenomenon that has serious
health implications for them.
Smoking is a major social determinant of a person’s health and well-being, especially in the
presence of various intervening variables which mainly consist of social determinants. For
instance, according to Masayoshi et al (2017), poverty can inhibit a smoker from seeking
medical attention when confronted with the health complications lung cancer associated with
tobacco. Marmot (2005) also argues that a tobacco user with poor housing is more exposed to the

4
risk of smoking-related respiratory health complications than a non-smoker. Thus, when
smoking is combined with other social determinants of well-being, the individual becomes more
susceptible to health risks.
Lambeth’s Smoking Demographics
The latest reports on Lambeth population indicate that the borough has an estimated population
of 283,879 (Paul & Valtonen 2016). Among this population, the authors estimate that about
28.1% of adults are smokers, a rate which is slightly higher than the average adult smoking rate
in the UK (26%). Moreover, statistics by Amroussia et al (2017) indicate that Lambeth’s adult
sm0king rates (28%) are higher than the average smoking rate in England (24%) and in London
(23.3%), meaning that the prevalence of smoking within the borough is alarming.
Scholars have established a strong relationship between social disadvantage and tobacco
smoking in Lambeth. For instance, Pons-Vigues et al (2014) say that there is a disproportionate
effect of smoking on economically disadvantaged persons which contribute to serious health
inequality. This confirms the results of previous studies exploring the relationship between
smoking and health inequalities. Among the studies include a Health Survey of England Report
which revealed that young adults, women and children who live in deprived areas of Lambeth
are more likely to smoke than those in non-deprived areas (Erwat et al 2017). Furthermore,
Amroussia et al (2017) estimate that at least one in five people dies out of tobacco-related health
complications in England, and considering that Lambeth has a higher prevalence of smokers than
England, the same picture might be true in Lambeth.