Healthcare Policy Analysis: UK Tobacco Control Measures and Impact

This report provides an analysis of the politics and policy of healthcare, specifically focusing on tobacco control in the UK. It begins with an introduction to the concept of healthcare policy and its role in achieving public health goals, emphasizing the importance of tobacco control. The report then delves into the background of tobacco use in the UK, highlighting the prevalence of smoking among different occupational groups and the preventable diseases and deaths caused by tobacco. The core of the report examines the UK's tobacco control policy, including the Tobacco Control Act, its provisions, and its impact on reducing tobacco consumption, particularly among youth. The report discusses the policy's aims, such as restricting tobacco marketing, sales, and ensuring warning labels on products. It references research and opinions on the policy's effectiveness and social implications, including the impact of smoke-free public places and the rising legal age for tobacco purchase. The conclusion underscores the importance of healthcare policies like tobacco control in reducing preventable deaths and diseases, promoting a healthier society. The report also includes a detailed list of references, citing books, journals, and online resources used in the analysis.

Politics and Policy of
Healthcare

Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................1
Background......................................................................................................................................1
The policy........................................................................................................................................2
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................4
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................5

Introduction
The concept of Politics and Policy of Healthcare is mainly associated with the decisions,
plans, and actions that are undertaken by the government and other political leaders to achieve
specific healthcare goals within a society. The health policy plays a vital role in achieving and
defining a vision for the future which aim at outlining the priorities along with describing the
expected roles of different group to build consensus and informs people. The Tobacco control
policy forms out to be vital and important for nation like UK as the cases of cancer, depression,
heart stroke and drug and alcohol abuse are increasing with a rapid speed one of the main reason
of which is associated with the high consumption of Tobacco products and other forms of
smoking and drugs (Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act - An Overview, 2020).
Background
Tobacco and smoking are one of the most common issues that is currently seen in the
society of UK as a researcher shown that in the UK, near around 1 out of every 4 (23.4%) of the
people working in routine or as a manual occupations smoked, this makes near around 2.5 times
higher than that of people working in managerial and professional occupations (9.3%) (Yilmaz,
2017). Further, it has been also seen that many preventable disease and death are also caused and
lead out by Tobacco in UK and London. Thus, adoption of a comprehensive as well as the most
strategic approach that would leads to tobacco control has become a priority for all local
authorities and government of UK. Many prevention step and control measures are taken by
politics and social agencies of UK to control and keep check on sale and consumption of the
tobacco products. One of these social and political policy comprises of tobacco control policy of
UK that impose a strict control sales and consumption of tobacco (Mamtani and Lowenfels,
2018).
The tobacco control policy put a prohibition on the smoking in public places along with
strict prohibition on any kind of advertisements of tobacco products. Beside this, the political
provisions and implication of tobacco control policy also comprises of a prohibition on sale
of tobacco products for the minors (persons below 18 years) and young individuals along with
the leading a ban on the sale of all kinds of tobacco products near around and within the 100
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yards of the all forms of educational institutions together with a strict ban and control on
mandatory display and advertisement of the tobacco products. Further, it has been also seen that
the Smoking remains the England’s on of the single greatest cause of the preventable illness as
well as of the avoidable death which is presently resulting for more than 78,000 deaths which are
taken place from smoking and its related diseases in the 2016 alone. Thus, Tobacco control
policy is vital and important as smoking is still causing over 200 deaths and many diseases every
day which are still caused by smoking long with it kills and take lives of a larger number of
people each year which is much more than that of obesity, or alcohol intake along with higher
than the drug misuse and traffic accidents as well as HIV in combined (Yılmaz, 2017).
The policy
The selection of Tobacco control policy for current assignment is vital as it causes ill
health, carries a financial cost and places a significant burden on the NHS and other health
organisation thus, it become vital and important for the government and other health care
organisation to keep a check to prevent consumption of tobacco. Further, it has been also
observed on the basis of various research undertaken that the smoking and consumption of
tobacco products is the single and the largest cause leading of preventable death along with the
biggest reason for causing of cancer across the world. Beside this, it has been also observed that
the tobacco and smoking products are also the cause of many illnesses which are preventable that
comprises of Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) along with the chances of stroke and other forms of
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Therefore, it become vital and important for
political parties and other social agencies to take all possible steps and measures to control and
keep a check on the consumption and sales of tobacco products (Lane, 2017).
In order to protect the public along with creating and leading out a healthier and diseses free
future for all the members of the society and there complete family through implication of
Family Smoking Prevention as well as through adopting Tobacco Control Act (Tobacco Control
Act) is signed into law on June 22, 2009 that provides FDA authority and other political and
social agencies to regulate the manufacture, distribution, and marketing of tobacco products.
Thus, the current Tobacco control policy is taken as a vital policy of government to keep check
and control over the sales and consumption of harmful tobacco and smoking products. This,
Tobacco control act is having a main focus and emphasis on reducing the issues of tobacco
consumption and smoking mainly for minors and young individuals as they are seemed more
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prone and attracted towards theses harmful products (Adult smoking habits in the UK: 2019,
2020). Thus, a ban has been imposed by this act on the advertising and promotion of all forms
and types of tobacco products and smoking items.
Further, the main provisions of the Tobacco control act comprise of Restricting the use
and sale of the Tobacco along with its Marketing and Sales especially to the Youth along with
Requires Smokeless Tobacco Product Warning Labels together with Ensures “Modified Risk”
Claims are Supported by Scientific Evidence along with Requires Disclosure of Ingredients in
Tobacco Products and at last Preserves State, Local, and Tribal Authority (McCormack and et.
al., 2017). The main aim at behind Restricts Tobacco Marketing and Sales to Youth is based on
the fact that consummation of tobacco by minors and youth leads a more negative impact on
their health and makes them addicted to smoke and other drugs which is harmful for their health.
Further, the current tobacco act has also made it essential and vital to have smokeless product
warning in the labels like this product can cause mouth cancer or tobacco is addictive. This form
of message plays a vital role in making young people more aware about the negative case and
health implication of tobacco. Further, one of the best way that is lead out by Tobacco control act
is comprises of the fact that all the risk modified versions of tobacco and smoking must be
supported by and based on some scientific evidence along with proper disclosure of ingredients
and smoking material used in a Tobacco product (Schlenker, 2020).
The current is mainly based on the opinion and issues disused by Philip Emeka Anyanwu,
PhD, Peter Craig, PhD, Srinivasa Vittal Katikireddi, FFPH and Michael James Green, PhD,
2020, within their research that debates on the rising issues of implemented smoke-free public
places legislation along with increasing the legal age for tobacco purchase from 16 to 18 years to
ensure prevention of tobacco consumption by minors and young individuals to preserve and
prevent them from the harmful contemporary disease like cancer and heart stroke lead out by the
consumption of tobacco. Besides this, the opinion of the David T. Levy, Laura Currie and Luke
Clancy, 2013, is also discussed which is based on the rising health risk created by tobacco a
smoking among the family and society of UK. The main issues and social implication caused by
Tobacco and smoking comprises of the many disease like cancer, or the heart related disease,
enhance chance of the stroke along with the lung diseases and enhanced chances of diabetes, and
other chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) that is directly related and associated with
the contemporary health of a society (Correia, 2018). Thus, the most common view point on
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Tobacco control policy is associated with leading out a preventable disease free society through
keeping a check on the sale and consumption of tobacco which can also causes emphysema and
chronic bronchitis. The another view point, associated with the Tobacco control policy is based
on social implication which emphasis of keeping young individuals and minor away from theses
unethical habits of smoking and consuming tobacco products (Broerse and Grin, 2017).
Thus, an analysis can be made out that the polices and social and legal laws implemented
by government and political parties plays and leads out a vital role in promoting better awareness
and support health care practises. The implementation of Tobacco control policy has provided a
better control for authorities and health and social care workers to prevent and control
consumption and sale of tobacco products mainly for young individuals and minor by the way of
strict legal actions and provisions (Lavanty, 2018). Therefore, Politics and Policy of Healthcare
like Tobacco control policy ensures and leads out a reduction in the preventable death and
disease caused by Tobacco which comprises of cancer, heart strokes and other major health
consequences to ensures a healthier and positive society.
Conclusion
On the basis of above presentation an analysis can be made the politics and policy of
healthcare is mainly associated with taking better and more effective decisions by government
and other health care agencies for protection of society from contemporary health issues.
Tobacco and smoking are commonly seen in the society of UK which is the main reason and
cause behind the death which can be prevented along with the biggest reason and cause of cancer
across the world. Thus, proper implication of Tobacco control policy become a vital political and
social responsibility of the government and legal agencies to ensure strict action on sales and
purchase of tobacco products especially in case of children and young individuals.
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REFERENCES
Books and journal
Broerse, J. and Grin, J. eds., 2017. Toward sustainable transitions in healthcare systems. Taylor
& Francis.
Correia, T., 2018. Healthcare delivery and austerity politics in Portugal: listening to physicians to
dismantle hidden effects. European Journal of Public Health, 28(suppl_4), pp.cky213-
035.
Lane, W.H., 2017. Healthcare: What Comes Next?.
Lavanty, D.F., 2018. The Reagan Era of Politics and Healthcare. In Political Aspects of Health
Care (pp. 53-64). Palgrave Pivot, New York.
Mamtani, R. and Lowenfels, A.B. eds., 2018. Critical Issues in Healthcare Policy and Politics in
the Gulf Cooperation Council States. Georgetown University Press.
McCormack, B.and et. al., 2017. 1 Person‐Centredness in Healthcare Policy, Practice and
Research. Person‐Centred Healthcare Research, p.1.
Schlenker, C., 2020. Professor Greg Shaw on Politics and Our Knowledge of Healthcare.
Yılmaz, V., 2017. Private Healthcare Provider Organisations as New Actors in the Politics of
Healthcare. In The Politics of Healthcare Reform in Turkey (pp. 195-239). Palgrave
Macmillan, Cham.
Yılmaz, V., 2017. The Politics of Healthcare: A Critical Review of the Literature. In The Politics
of Healthcare Reform in Turkey (pp. 23-45). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Yilmaz, V., 2017. The politics of healthcare reform in Turkey. Springer.
Online:
Adult smoking habits in the UK: 2019, 2020. [Online] Available Through:<
https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/
healthandlifeexpectancies/bulletins/adultsmokinghabitsingreatbritain/2019 >.
David T. Levy, Laura Currie, Luke Clancy, 2013. Tobacco control policy in the UK: blueprint
for the rest of Europe?. [Online] Available Through:<
https://academic.oup.com/eurpub/article/23/2/201/682561 >.
Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act - An Overview, 2020. [Online] Available
Through:< https://www.fda.gov/tobacco-products/rules-regulations-and-guidance/family-
smoking-prevention-and-tobacco-control-act-overview>.
Philip Emeka Anyanwu, PhD, Peter Craig, PhD, Srinivasa Vittal Katikireddi, FFPH, Michael
James Green, PhD, 2020.Impact of UK Tobacco Control Policies on Inequalities in
Youth Smoking Uptake: A Natural Experiment Study. [Online] Available Through:<
https://academic.oup.com/ntr/article/22/11/1973/5848536 >.
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