The different determinants that affect smoking In U.S - Research Paper Example

? Due: THE DIFFERENT DETERMINANTS THAT AFFECT SMOKING IN U.S INTRODUCTION There has been a steady increase in the level of cigarette smoking in the recent past. Smoking in the United States has a long history dating all the way from the earlier centuries despite its harmful effects in the life of smokers as well as that of the secondary smokers.According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) march 14, 2012 survey, 19.3% of adults (18 years and above) smoke. This is an estimated population of 45.3 million people. These figures indicate an upward trend over the past five years. In essence, this percentage has remained almost constant since 2005. The government of the United States of America spends an approximated $ 700 million for anti-smoking programs. However, experts and lobby groups have asserted that more funds should be set aside for the programs. This paper intends to examine the extent to which demographic factors such as gender, race, age and poverty levels influences the smoking behavior. More over, the study will examine the interrelationship between long illness and smoking. This study observes that, pro-smoke lobby groups have emerged to promote and advocate for cigarette smoking claiming that it is a harmless activity. Such include The Golden Leaf Foundation.Cigarette smoking is one of the leading causes of premature death in the United States. Economists have also advocated for smoking considering the impact it has on the economy. It is notable that, increasing taxes on tobacco products will greatly influence the level of cessation than the level of initiation among young people. According to DeCicca et al, 2008, age plays a significant role in determining the level of smoking in the United States. Ceasing from smoking habit is much easier among the youths than among adults. On the other hand, youths appear more quick to initiate smoking habit in comparison with adults. This is due to peer pressure among younger generation (DeCicca et al, 914). Cigarette smoking has numerous effects in a human body. Nicotine, which is found in tobacco, is known for its addictive power thus making it hard for smokers to quit smoking behavior. Youths usually underestimate the power of nicotine and it’s only after engaging in smoking behavior, when they do realize how it is challenging to quit. Tobacco also contains other chemicals that endanger the life of a smoker. It is proven scientifically that smoking affect nearly every organ in the body.Women who smoke during pregnancies usually pose a serious risk to their unborn children. It increases high chances of miscarriage as well as premature births. Such mothers may also give birth to children with low weight, which will definitely affect their growth thus lowering their chances of surviving infant mortality. Paternal smoking might affect the unborn child through secondary smoking. Anumber of long-term illnesses have been associated with smoking. Cancerous infections that affect body parts such as cervix, bladder, pancreas, lungs among others are attributed to smoking behavior and are usually terminal. Heart diseases such as coronary artery disease, stroke and heart attack are consequences of long-term smoking. Production health activists have argued that persistent smoking behavior leads to reduces fertility in both men and women. In men, it may lead to erectile dysfunction as well as low sperm count or formation of abnormal sperms. It has been established that women who smoke are more likely to be affected negatively by contraceptive pills. Women who smoke are more likely to go through menopause early compared to those who do not smoke. Smoking greatly affects the skin of smokers. The tar on tobacco usually stains the teeth, skin and the lips. Wrinkles may also appear on the skin at an early age for those have long term smoking behavior. Women who smoke are more likely to store fat in their waist rather than their hips and this is linked to some serious medical conditions. LITERATURE REVIEW The journal of economic health, which was written by (Lundborg& Andersson, 1302), sought to establish gender differences in smoking risk perceptions and gender differences in smoking behavior. They found out that cigarette smoking and addiction was more in male than in female. However they proved that females were not easy to quit smoking compared to their male counterparts. This confirmed that women are more vulnerable to the negative effects of smoking than men since they find it more challenging to quit. Women are viewed to be more apprehensive with their well-being and physical condition than men. Therefore they are very careful not to engage in addictive smoking behavior (1309). The study further established that age also has considerable influence on smoking behavior. The elderly usually underrate the dangers associated with smoking unlike the younger generation. This can be attributed to the level of information and awareness among the young generation. While analyzing history of smoking (Damien, 709), determined that the spread of smoking behavior among the educated decreased rapidly after they became more informed about the negative effects associated with smoking. It was only in the mid-seventies that a decrease in smoking among men associated with college education began to take shape. Initially, education did not portray a significant impact on smoking among young men He conducted a study in Uganda which revealed that there existed a negative slope between education and the prevalence of HIV among the young women. He argued that the findings replicated the relationship between education and smoking. Unlike HIV and AIDS, deaths associated with smoking usually occurred in the late years and therefore it had little impact in returns according to this study. He continued that as function of health production, education played a great role in reducing the level of smoking among the educated. Increasing the level of education leads to increase in income level and as result it provides an incentive to reduction of mortality rates. “Smoking among the young people is more tax responsive as well as price responsive than among the adult.” (DeCicca et al, 907).They argued that price elasticity of smoking initiation appears to drive the price elasticity of smoking among the young people unlike the adults. Higher taxes will promote and encourage smoke cessation especially among the adults. However initiation to smoking is less correlated to taxation. They defined light smokers as those who smoke between 1 to 10 cigarettes per day while heavy smokers are those who consume more than 10 cigarettes per day. The paper affirmed that increasing taxation on smoking resulted into a larger marginal effect on the chances of smoking cessation among the light smokers in comparison to the heavy smokers. This could also be explained by the high level of addiction being experienced by the heavy smokers (914). According to (Warner, 491) the U.S government has taken major steps aimed at reducing the consumption of cigarette due to the increasing health costs associated with smoking. Such steps public awareness initiatives on the harmful effects of smoking, tax increment and government legislations aimed at reducing smoking rates. He noticed that increase in taxes in States that produce tobacco was less compared to those that are not producers. They considered such a move as an economic disaster. (Liu, 2927) established that tobacco companies had a great role to play in determining smoking levels through price adjustments. The low of demand and supply states that higher demand will lead to increase in prices so the companies will find it fit to increase prices in states where demand was high. Price discrimination will highly influence the initiations as well as cessations. The body mass index was likely to increase among women who had low body mass index due smoking. However, a decrease was witnessed among those with high body mass index (G.L.Wehbyetal, 208). According to Grossman, education is considered as a key investment, which should influence all aspects of life. It therefore determines the level of spending and consumption of individuals. Education promotes the acquisition ofinformation on health matters. It is notable that, the educated people are well informed on matters concerned with smoking and can make rational choices regarding smoking behavior. In studying the factors associated with smoking among youths in Wisconsin (Jacobson et al, 1104) found out that socio-demographic factor were closely related to smoking behavior among youths. These factors include race, age, ethnicity as well as economic status. There was higher smoking prevalence among youths from low socioeconomic status compared to those from high socioeconomic background. Youths from black background displayed low smoking prevalence compared to their white counterparts owing to the fact that smoking is considered less acceptable among black families. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY This study involved the use of secondary data. Data was obtained from Integrated Health Interview Serial (IHIS). The total number of observations recorded was 430,297. Number of cigarettes consumed per day (Consumption) formed the dependent variable while sex, race, education level, earnings, age, health and poverty level among the participants formed the independent variables. Data was analyzed using STATA. RESULTS AND FINDINGS DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS i) AGE Majority (36%) of the participants in this study comprised of those aged between 40-69 years old, those aged between 18-39 years old formed the second largest group with about 29%, those aged below 18 years old were 27% of the total while the elderly (70 years and above) constituted to approximately 8% of the total participants. With a minimum age of 0 years old, maximum age of 85 years old and an average age of 35.675 years old, ii) SEX Almost an equal number of both male and female were interviewed. However, more female respondents were interviewed as compared to the male respondents. 52% of those interviewed were females while 48% were male respondents. iii) RACE The whites had a larger representation in the study as compared to other individuals. 75% of those interviewed were whites distantly followed by the Black/African-American at approximately 16%. The rest of the group comprised of Alaskan Native or American Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Asian Indian etc. iv) EDUCATION LEVEL In terms of education, a larger group comprised of those who had attained Grade 12 represented by 22%, those in possession of Bachelors degree/4 years college came second with 21%, those in possession of over 5 years of college were third at 12%, the rest had less than 10% representation. v) POVERTY LEVEL Larger percent of the participants were individuals who are either at or above the poverty threshold. 71% of the participants were said to be in this category, 15% were below the poverty line while 14% were undefined i.e. they could not be categorized as being below, at or above the poverty threshold. ASSOCIATION BETWEEN AGE AND THE NUMBER OF CIGARETTES TAKEN The study sought to determine if there exists an association between the number of cigarettes that the participants take and the age. Indeed there is a strong dependence between the two variables (p-value=0.000 Read More