The Georgia Department of Public Health (GDPH) figures estimates that about 30% (3,077) of Georgians die from respiratory diseases each year. What I did not know, before searching this website is that EPA differentiated air pollutants into two groups; criteria pollutants and hazardous/toxic air pollutants (EPA, n.d). I did not know that of these respiratory-related deaths a greater number is due to tobacco smoking or air pollution. Also, "smoking results in the loss of $1.8 billion in healthcare costs every year among Georgians." (GDPH, 2016). Lost productivity cost stood at $3.2 billion, a staggering amount of waste. The North, North West, and West Central of Georgia had a significantly more smoking population than the rest of Georgia. Non-Hispanic white adults are more likely to smoke than other minority groups. Unemployed, uninsured, adults report smoking-related health cases. Therefore, Georgia has a high air pollution problem that affects the health of the population. Interventions are implemented at different levels.
As a practicing nurse within a community, it is my responsibility as part of the healthcare team to help reduce the production lost, deaths, and other effects of air pollution and tobacco smoking. One way of helping in reducing air pollution and smoking is raising awareness and support for policies that ban smoking in public places because of secondhand smoking effects. Encouragement and support are critical to stopping smoking. Advice to smokers on the dangers of cancer and respiratory diseases will go a long way in cessation. Assistance can be given to smokers to prepare them to engage in a cessation program. Pharmacotherapy is an option that can be offered. Bupropion is a drug that has shown great promise is reducing smoking by changing the brain's responsiveness to nicotine, the addictive substance of tobacco. Nurses training in the area of counseling will effectively help in reducing tobacco use.
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References
Georgia Department of Health. (2016). Adult Tobacco Use in Georgia: 2016 Data Summary. Retrieved from https://dph.georgia.gov/sites/dph.georgia.gov/files/2016%20Adult%20Tobacco%20Use%20in%20Georgia.pdf
U.S. Environment Protection Agency. (N.d). My Environment. Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/myenvironment
