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Vulnerable Populations

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Vulnerable Populations and Self-Awareness Paper
Barbara D. Ross
University of Phoenix
Health Assessment and Promotion for Vulnerable Population
NUR 440
Marcella Hardy - Peterson
April 19, 2010

Vulnerable Populations and Self-Awareness Paper The social stigma of cigarette smoking has grown over the last 25 years. Many states have established anti-smoking legislation that prohibits smoking in public areas. This paper examines current social, economic and health related impact of the chronic smoker in today’s sociality.

The author began smoking cigarettes as an enlisted Navy recruit, quit “cold turkey” when a severe morning cough convinced her that smoking cigarettes might not be conducive to optimum health. The conversion from smoker to non-smoker was not difficult. Cigarette smoking can be part of a social and cultural ritual. Tobacco use became popular in the United States in the 1800’s. Chewing tobacco was the method of use for the early American pioneers. In 1880, James Bonsack, created a machine that rolled tobacco in paper. The creation of the cigarette machine increased the cigarette production and revolutionized the tobacco industry. The health concern of long termed cigarette smoking came to the forefront in the mid-twenthth century.

The CDC estimated in 2005, that 20.9% of all U.S. adults, were current cigarette smokers, 80.8% smoked daily and 19.2% some days. The highest prevalence of ethnic smokers were American Indians 32% followed by 22% non-Hispanic whites, 21.5% of blacks, 13.3% of Asians and Hispanics at 16.2%. The percentage of smokers continues to decrease and an estimated 42.5% current cigarette smoker are trying to quit. In terms of smoking prevalence based on education levels and gender, 43.2% of the people who earned GED’s, 32.6% of people with high school education rank the

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