Multilevel Model of Health: Smoking Cessation in Youth
- jc645587
- Oct 27, 2022
- 3 min read
Updated: Dec 6, 2022
Image: (Philadelphia Department of Public Health, 2022)
Multilevel Model of Health Smoking Cessation in Youth
I have used the social ecological model of health and related this to the topic of smoking cessation in youth. This is a relevant topic for my profession, as I am a respiratory therapist and order nicotine replacement pharmacotherapy and perform smoking cessation counseling to patients daily.
Individual: decision making capability, socio demographics
Example: At the individual level, people may feel a sense of pleasure and the addictive nature of cigarettes/nicotine which motivate many smokers to continue (Sorenson et al., 2004). Some individuals may feel immune to the negative effects of smoking due to age and being relative healthy prior to starting smoking. Also due to the nature of rebellion, youth may be more likely to start smoking/continuing to do so.
Interpersonal and household environments: family dynamics and social support
Examples: Exposure to family members’ (especially parents) smoking may encourage children to adopt the same behaviour. Exposure to second hand smoke and may also encourage children to smoke if seen as an acceptable behavior (Stuber et al., 2008). As children, close friends that develop a smoking habit may contribute via peer pressure and contribute to smoking habits.
Organizations (School and Work Environments): Policies, education, staffing, work culture, team-based approach.
Examples: Smoke Free environment policies in place at most workplaces, schools and public places. Prince Edward Island has the Smoke Free Act which prohibits smoking in a public place or workplace and no smoking in a motor vehicle in which a person under 19 is present. (Smoke-free Places Act, 2018).
Community: physical and social environments, external organizations.
Examples: Smoke free places such as public parks, streets, playgrounds continue to fall under the smoke free act (Smoke-free Places Act, 2018). Advertising the negative health effects of smoking in these places such as hospitals, community centers etc could be one way to prevent youth from smoking or help them quit.
Society: policy inputs, population, government programs, taxes and laws.
Examples: The government increases tax rates on tobacco to increase costs and make this less accessible to lower income people. In PEI the tax is 29.5 cents per cigarette purchased (Tobacco Tax Rates, Government of Prince Edward Island, n.d.). In PEI the sale of flavored tobacco is illegal which will help prevent youth starting to smoke or vape. In addition there is laws to prevent the sale of tobacco to a person under the age of 21 in PEI (Tobacco Tax Rates, Government of Prince Edward Island, n.d.). In terms of government programs, PEI has the provincial smoking cessation which helps PEI residents who wish to stop smoking or using other tobacco products by: covering 100% of the cost of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products (i.e., nicotine gum, lozenges, patches, and inhaler) and specific smoking cessation prescription medications (Quit Smoking, Government of Prince Edward Island, n.d.). This provincial program helps people of low income access nicotine replacement therapy and help them quit smoking with no cost to the patient.
References
Philadelphia Department of Public Health. Tobacco policy and control program: making the
healthy choice the easy choice. Get Healthy Philly Annual Report 2011–2012.
http://www.phila.gov/health/pdfs/commissioner/2012AnnualReport_Tobacco.pdf.
Accessed October 27, 2022.
Quit Smoking, Government of Prince Edward Island. (n.d.). Retrieved October 27, 2022,
Sorensen G, Barbeau E, Hunt MK, Emmons K. Reducing social disparities in tobacco use: a
social-contextual model for reducing tobacco use among blue-collar workers. Am J
Public Health. 2004 Feb;94(2):230-9. doi: 10.2105/ajph.94.2.230. PMID: 14759932;
PMCID: PMC1448233.
Smoke-Free Places Act - princeedwardisland.ca. Smoke-free Places Act. (2018). Retrieved
October 27, 2022, from
free_places_act.pdf
Stuber, J., Galea, S., & Link, B. G. (2008). Smoking and the emergence of a stigmatized
social status. Social Science &Amp; Medicine, 67(3), 420–430.
Tobacco Tax Rates, Government of Prince Edward Island. (n.d.). Retrieved October 27,
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