Investigation and Analysis

 October 4, 2022

Client Research

NHS England provides national leadership for the NHS. Supporting NHS organizations, dentists, mental health services, etc, to work together to improve health outcomes for patients and communities, deliver the best values for taxpayers, and continuously improve the NHS is part of our mission to provide high-quality health and care for all. Using world-leading research, innovation, and technology, we work to make NHS an employer of excellence.

With the launch of a new Better Health marketing campaign, people can prevent the risk of developing serious illnesses and reduce the risk of being hospitalized from Covid-19. In partnership with Better Health, 15 weight management and physical activity partners are offering free and discounted offers, and the websites will also provide local weight management support. From reducing the risk of serious diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and up to 12 types of cancer, to lowering the chances of being hospitalized with Covid-19, the multimedia campaign highlights the severe health conditions which could be prevented by losing excess weight and offers free support and guidance to achieve this goal.

10th January 2022, a multimedia Better Health campaign has been launched to encourage families with young children to eat better and to support families in finding a simple solution to maintain a healthier diet and to help people prevent the risk of developing serious illnesses and help reduce the risk of being hospitalized. The campaign follows a record rise in obesity among children since the pandemic's start.

The NHS was set up in 1948 to provide everyone in the UK with healthcare based on their needs and not their ability to pay. They are respected worldwide for the standard of care it gives patients. Some people think about the NHS as being their local hospital, dentist or GP, or even local pharmacy. However, the NHS is the healthcare you receive from your local hospital, dentist, GP, or pharmacy as a whole. Some people are employed by the NHS who do not work in hospitals, local healthcare centres, GP practices, or even in patients' own houses. 

There are over 1 million people in England who work as part of the NHS this is more than any other organization in the country. This is one in every forty people, so there is a chance you know someone who works for the NHS. The people who work for the NHS may have jobs in clinical and non-clinical roles. Clinical roles provide care to patients, such as nursing, medicine, and midwifery, as well as a range of allied health professions such as physiotherapy, radiography and counselling. The non-clinical roles in the NHS cover the functions needed to keep the buildings clean and efficient and the organization running smoothly. These non-clinical roles include receptionists, accountants, IT specialists, caterers, engineers, architects, and plumbers.

The new campaign highlights 6 benefits that could have a lasting impact on a person's health by being a healthier weight:

- Decreased risk of common cancers (colon, liver, pancreas, kidney).

- The lowered risk of increased blood pressure.

- Reduced risk of heart disease.

- Less risk of developing diabetes.

- Less strain from chronic back and joint pain.

- Decreased risk of being hospitalized or becoming seriously ill with Covid-19.

With this vision, we can move beyond rhetoric and into tangible action. Preventing disease boils down to helping people stay healthy, happy, and independent for as long as possible. The NHS, the national government, and local governments need to take action in partnership with the voluntary and community sector and industry. It is also important to empower people to take charge of their own health. Together we can ensure that our children are ready to start school, that young people are prepared to enter adulthood ready to work, and that adults can secure and maintain a job and a home.

Subject Area Research

Benefits of not smoking: (leaflet)

- Improves health status and enhances quality of life.

- Reduce the risk of premature death and can add as much as 10 years of life expectancy.

- Reduces the risk for many adverse health effects, including poor reproductive health outcomes, cardiovascular diseases, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and cancer.

- Benefits people already diagnosed with coronary heart disease or COPD.

- Benefits the health of pregnant women and their fetuses and babies.

- Reduces the risk of disease and death from cardiovascular disease.

- Reduces the financial burden that smoking places on people who smoke, healthcare systems, and society.

- Reduces markers of inflammation and hypercoagulability.

- Reduces the risk of getting 12 different cancers; Acute myeloid leukemia, bladder, lung cancer, cervix, colon and rectum, esophagus, kidney, liver, mouth and throat, pancreas, stomach, and voice box (larynx).

How to quit smoking? (Leaflet)

To successfully quit smoking, you must find a smoking cessation plan that works with your personality. You need to be mentally and emotionally ready. You are the one who wants to quit not just for your family or friends. 

Some of these pointers can help;

- Get rid of all cigarettes and anything related to smoking such as lighters and ashtrays.

- Live with another smoker, ask them not to smoke near you, or convince them to quit with you.

- When craving hi do not focus on them, try doing something else like running or riding a bike.

- Keep yourself busy, and find something to do with your hands- doodling or playing with a pencil and straw.

- change any activities connected to smoking, too. take a walk or read a book instead of taking a cigarette break.

- When you have the urge to smoke, take a deep breath. Hold it in for ten seconds and release it slowly. Repeat this several times until the urge to smoke is gone. You can also try meditation to reduce baseline stress levels.

- Avoid places, people, and situations you associate with smoking. Hang out with non-smokers or go to places that do not allow smoking (like movies, museums, shops, or libraries.)

- Do not substitute food or sugar-based products for cigarettes. These can cause weight gain. Instead, choose low-calorie, healthy foods. Try carrots or celery sticks, sugar-free hard candies, or gum.

- Drink plenty of fluids, but limit alcoholic and caffeinated beverages. They can trigger urges to smoke.

- Do not forget to exercise, because it has health benefits and helps you relax.

The downfall of smoking- (leaflet 2)

- By smoking, you can increase the risk of getting cancer.

- poisons in cigarette smoke can weaken the body's immune system, making it harder to kill deadly disease cells. If this happens the disease cells will keep growing.

- Poisons in tobacco smoke can damage and change a cell's DNA. When DNA is damaged it begins to grow out of control.

- When you smoke you increase the chance of getting serious illnesses.

- Women who smoke have more difficulty becoming pregnant and have a higher risk of never becoming pregnant.

Key Facts- (TV advert)

- More than 16 million Americans are living with a disease caused by smoking. 

- For every person who dies because of smoking, at least 30 people live with a serious smoking-related illness. 

- Tobacco kills up to half of its users. 

- In 2020, 22.3% of the global population used tobacco, 36.7% of all men, and 7.8% of the world's women.

- Over 80% of the world's, 1.3 billion tobacco users live in low- and middle-income countries.

- Tobacco kills more than 8 million people each year.

- Smokers have a greater risk for lung cancer today than they did in 1964.

General Information (leaflet 1)

Cigarette smoking harms almost all organs in the body and causes many diseases. It reduces the health of smokers in general. Cigarettes affect the respiratory system, the circulatory system, the reproductive system, the skin, and the eyes, and it increases the risk of many cancers. Smoking leads to disease and disability and harms nearly every organ of the body. Doctors have known for years that smoking causes most lung cancer. The tobacco epidemic is one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced. Tobacco can also kill non-smokers due to second-hand smoke. In the 1950s health experts linked smoking to lung cancer. Research continues to pinpoint more ways tobacco harms your health, from cancers to chronic diseases. It is estimated that 16 million Americans live with a disease caused by smoking. About 480,000 people die from smoking-related diseases every year. Some people think it is better to smoke a cigar, but it is just as bad as smoking a cigarette as smoking a cigar can also increase the risk of developing cancer. Chewing tobacco and smokeless tobacco is not safer than smoking a cigarette as smokeless tobacco contains almost 30 cancer-causing chemicals.

Lung disease (leaflet 2)

Because a person inhales nicotine, among other chemicals it can damage the lungs which happen when someone has smoked a cigarette or second-hand smoke has occurred. They are responsible for a substantial increase in the risk of developing lung cancer. This risk is 25 times greater for men and 25.7 times for women. Roughly 9 out of 10 lung cancer deaths are linked to smoking. Cigarettes also present a greater risk of developing and crying from chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD). The American Lung Association report that smoking causes 80% of COPD deaths. Cigarettes also relate to developing emphysema and chronic bronchitis. They can also trigger or exacerbate an asthma attack.

Heart disease (leaflet 3)

Smoking cigarettes can damage the heart, blood vessels, and blood cells. The chemicals and tar in cigarettes can increase a person's risk of atherosclerosis which is the buildup of plaque in the blood vessels. This buildup limits blood flow and can lead to dangerous blockages. It can also increase the risk of peripheral artery disease (PAD), which occurs when arteries to the arms and legs start to narrow, restricting blood flow. Research shows a direct link between smoking and developing PAD even those who used to smoke face higher risk than people who never smoked in their lives. Having PAD increases the risk of blood clots, angina, chest pain, stroke, and heart disease.

Fertility Problems (leaflet 2)

Smoking can damage a female's productive system and make it more difficult to get pregnant. This may be because tobacco and the other chemicals in cigarettes affect hormone levels. In males, the risk of erectile dysfunction increases the more they smoke and the length of time they smoke for. Smoking can also affect the quality of the sperm and therefore reduce fertility. Smoking can affect pregnancy and the developing fetus in several ways, including increasing the risk of ectopic pregnancy, reducing the baby's birth weight, increasing the risk of preterm delivery, damaging the fetus's lungs, brain, and central nervous system, increasing the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and contributing to congenital abnormalities, such a cleft lip and cleft palate.

Risk of type 2 diabetes

The CDC report that people who smoke regularly have a 30%-40% higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes than those who do not. Smoking can also make it more difficult for people with diabetes to manage their condition.

How does smoking affect your body? (TV advert)

It harms every organ in your body. Smoking not only introduces nicotine but also more than 5,000 chemicals, including numerous carcinogens (cancer-causing chemicals) into your lungs, blood, and organs. The damage caused by smoking can shorten your lifespan. Smoking is the number one cause of preventable death in the United States. Pregnant women who smoke during their pregnancy can cause serious damage to the baby or fetus.

How does chewing tobacco affect your health? (Tv advert)

It can cause nicotine addiction. You may develop cancers of the mouth, esophagus, and pancreas. It will also cause gum disease, tooth decay, and tooth loss.

Is vaping safer than smoking a cigarette? (TV advert)

It remains unclear the safety and dangers of e-cigarettes. Many of them contain high amounts of nicotine.

Vaping may be the gateway to other forms of nicotine, such as cigarettes or chewing tobacco. They include other damaging substances as well. Inhaling these non-nicotine vape ingredients may cause severe, sometimes deadly lung damage (called EVALI).

Tobacco is used among children and teens. (leaflet 4)

Smoking during childhood and adolescence causes significant health problems among young people, including an increase in the number and severity of respiratory illnesses, decreased physical fitness, and potential effects on lung growth and function. Most importantly, this is when an addiction to smoking takes hold, often lasting into and sometimes throughout adulthood. Among adults who have smoked daily, 87% had tried their first cigarette by the time they were 18 years of age, and 95% had by age 21.

Key Facts 2- (leaflet 4)

- Every day, almost 2,500 children under 18 years of age try their first cigarette, and more than 400 of them will become new, regular daily smokers. Half of them will ultimately die from their habit.

- People who start smoking at an early age are more likely to develop a severe addiction to nicotine than those who start at a later age. Of adolescents who have smoked at least 100 cigarettes in their lifetime, most of them report that they would like to quit but are not able to do so.

- If current tobacco uses patterns persist, an estimated 5.6 million of today's youth under age 18 will eventually die prematurely from smoking-related diseases.

All of this research I have done for the subject area has helped me understand how bad smoking is and how bad it can affect your life and your health. Now that I have finished my subject research I can now decide what topics I am going to have in my leaflet, and all this research, it will help me do just that. I have learnt that anything to do with smoking, whether it is cigarettes, e-cigarettes, vaping, or tobacco can have a really negative impact on your body, and I have discovered that tobacco is the biggest pandemic the world has ever seen.

Previous NHS Campaign

Different NHS campaigns.pptx from faithsowerby

Each campaign the NHS usually do are about a serious illness like type 2 diabetes or heart disease, first, they would typically release a video, and then later you would generally see posters on bus stops and more. Their typical audience range is usually adults, depending on the campaign. Some of the NHS, campaigns will be aimed at young children some of the images and content will be child-friendly but some of the adult campaigns can be very grim and dark. When I researched previous campaigns, I decided to research print work (such as posters) because when I was given this project I decided that I was going to do an informative leaflet on smoking, so researching print work on what the NHS has done in the past will help me design my leaflet and help me decided how I'm going to structure my leaflet.

Smoking advert analysis-

 

In this advert, the colour scheme is very dark and dull, though it is trying to be positive because it is promoting quitting smoking. The use of the pair of lungs in the jar with cigarettes shows what tobacco can do to your lungs if you do not break the cycle.

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Covid-19 advert analysis-

In this advert, the colour scheme is very dull, as it is trying to show that Covid-19 can be deadly and what it can do to your body. The use of the oxygen mask shows that if you caught Covi-19 you will end up with bad breathing problems or worse. The use of the phrase "Look him/her in the eye" implies that if we don't follow the guideline this is what we potentially risk to someone, as Covid-19 spreads through contact just like the common cold or flu.

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Change4Life advert analysis-

In this advert, the colour scheme is bright as it is meant for adults. It is trying to make them aware not to let drinking control their lives. The use of bright colours could also be to make the product visually appealing to the audience it is aimed for. The use of the smaller images of the drinks is to symbolise that to an alcoholic, alcohol is always on the mind and that we can be tempted easily and that alcohol will not go away unless we do something about it.

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Audience Research

Audience Feedback.pptx from faithsowerby

Audience Feedback Anaylsis

Here, you can see that I did a survey to understand what aspects of smoking I should focus on for my advert. One of the questions I asked was linked to the long-term impacts of smoking. I came to the realization that a lot of the people I questioned only knew a few of the long-term impacts of smoking and only a couple knew more than 5 impacts. With these results, I have determined that smoking is a big issue that people need to be more informed on.

Here you can see that I did a survey to understand what aspects of smoking I should focus on for my advert. One of the questions, I asked was linked to who smokes in my class's family. The overall result I got was that many of their family members do or have smoked in their lives. With these results, I have determined that smoking is a big issue that people need to be more informed on.

Here you can see that I did a survey to understand what aspects of smoking I should focus on for my advert. One of the questions I asked was linked to who smokes in my class. I came to the realization that a massive amount of people in the group I surveyed smoked and only a small amount do not. With these results, I have determined that smoking is a big issue that people need to be informed about.

Focus Group Presentation

After the questionnaire about smoking, I needed to ask more questions to get a deeper understanding of what people know about how smoking can impact yourself, your body and the people around you. So I decided to get a group of people to do a focus group so that I could get more in-depth answers. I thought about asking a group of people who are in our target audience.

1) Do you smoke cigarettes? If yes, why? If not, why?

2) What do you smoke? (Cigarettes, Vape, E-Cigarettes, other)

3) What impacts on the body from smoking are you aware of?

4) Do you know how much cigarettes costs?

5) Have you ever considered smoking?

6) Would you encourage other people to stop smoking, and why?

7) If someone you know was going to start smoking, would you discourage them?

Focus Group Analysis

So, I got a group of people that included me to answer these questions, what I have learnt from this focus group is that not a lot of people know what the impacts of smoking are, and I have learnt that some of the people in the group started to smoke so that they could fit in and when they realized they don't need to do this to fit in, it was too late to stop smoking. So, I can conduct some more research on the impacts of smoking because I understood from my focus group that not many people know what the impacts of smoking are, so this can be one of the focuses of my leaflet. Another focus of my leaflet could be how to stop smoking, so teenagers who have started to smoke to fit in and now can't stop smoking can have the help and information to stop.

Audience Profile

References:

NHS. (2013). What We Do. [Online]. NHS England. Available at: https://www.england.nhs.uk/about/what-we-do/ [Accessed 4 October 2022].

Government. (2022). Better Health Campaign. [Online]. gov. The UK. Last Updated: 4 January 2022. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-campaign-launch-reveals-six-major-health-benefits-to-losing-w [Accessed 5 October 2022].

• CDC. (Unknown). Benefits of Quitting. [Online]. Smoking and Tobacco Use. Last Updated: 23 September 2022. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/quit_smoking/how_to_quit/benefits/index.htm#:~:text=improves%20health%20 [Accessed 10 October 2022].

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• Who. (2022). Tobacco. [Online]. Tobacco - World Health Organization (WHO). Last Updated: 24 May 2022. Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/tobacco [Accessed 1 November 2022].

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• CDC. (2020). Health Effects. [Online]. Smoking and Tobacco Use. Last Updated: April 28, 2020. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/health_effects/index.htm [Accessed 1 November 2022].

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• CDC. (2021). Cancer. [Online]. Smoking and Tobacco Use. Last Updated: April 2, 2021. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/health_effects/cancer/index.htm [Accessed 1 November 2022].

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• CDC. (2020). Smoking during Pregnancy. [Online]. Smoking and Tobacco Use. Last Updated: April 28, 2020. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/health_effects/pregnancy/index.htm [Accessed 1 November 2022].

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• Cleveland Clinic. (Unknown). Smoking. [Online]. Smoking: Effects, Risks, Addiction, Quitting, Treatment. Last Updated: 28 October 2020. Available at: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/17488-smoking [Accessed 4 November 2022].

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• American Lung Association. (Unknown). Tobacco uses among children and teens. [Online]. Tobacco uses among children and teens. Last Updated: 3 April 2020. Available at: https://www.lung.org/quit-smoking/smoking-facts/tobacco-use-among-children [Accessed 4 November 2022]. 

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• MedicalNewsToday. (Unknown). 13 ways smoking affects the body. [Online]. 13 effects of smoking cigarettes - Medical News Today. Last Updated: July 28, 2022. Available at: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324644#weakened-immune-system [Accessed 12 November 2022].