Social Marketing Program - Sensitive Population - Assessment Answer

Subject Code : MKTG7531
Subject Name : SOCIAL MARKETING

1. What is the problem or issue your social marketing program will address?

The problem of secondary smoke exposure is the alarming health deteriorating concern of today for the passive smokers, as second-hand smoking contains more than 7,000 chemicals that potentially harms a person who is not even smoking directly and this is definitely the problem as addressed by the social marketing program, “Smoke-Free-UQ” in the University of Queensland.

Second-hand smoking results in the adults suffering from coronary heart diseases, lung cancer, strokes, infant deaths, death of the fetus, etc. that too without even actually doing it. The results of these have become so fatal in nature that there is an urgent need to look into the problem and do the needful.

Seeing this as an alarming situation for all the Australians, the University of Queensland seemed to have to ban the act of smoking in the whole of the University of Queensland and the university also took up the problem to be treated using social marketing that enables a much more promising result in future as it has been in others.

The social marketing program is working in the university on the scheme of focussing upon the ones who do not smoke so as to promote for the cause using the non-smoking population as the key role players in the whole problem rectifying regimen, which is benefitting when the features of the procedure are well followed and the relevant measures get catalysed by the active participation of both the smoking and non-smoking parts of the population.

2. What are the possible angles you could take in addressing the problem or issue?

Though it is a good idea to start it from the non-smokers for the matter of fact everyone knows that at some point in time the focus will go on the smokers who are the essential critical population at the present time. Therefore the measures must be the “sensitive population” specific so as to not leave behind a loophole that could render the whole process a waste.

Promoting and helping the non-smokers would be as helpful as it would be to support smokers who are trying to quit. As the one who does know it better how to keep a distance from such evils will be better accommodated to make the people of their circle understand the benefits of quitting and the dangers of continuing it.

The problem can be tackled by spreading awareness regarding the sufferings of second-hand smokers as most of the students don’t realise the threats thus caused by their deeds.

Also, the problem must be tackled by shifting from the question, “who smokes” to “where do they smoke” which will lead to the hotspots where they could be found, taught, and thus stopped from doing so.

3. From your secondary research, what is the epidemiology of the problem in your population – how widely distributed is the problem in the population?

Prevalence (how often it occurs):
Incidence (rate of new cases): □ Rising □ Staying the same □ Decreasing
Characteristics of people most at risk of having the problem:

Smoking is a very prevalent problem and the question must not be how often it occurs but at what rate is it increasing. As out of every 10 people 6 are chain smokers leading to the rest of the population becoming passive smokers naturally.

New cases arrive every day, though many do quit too when a maximum of them after suffering from the relapse syndrome lose their will to quit come back to their earlier schedule. While due to such social marketing programs the incident rate of new cases is slightly decreasing at present and there is a hope of losing the habit rather than losing lives.

The people who are at risk the most are passive smokers because they are suffering from health issues without even committing the actual act of smoking. The smokers are obviously in danger first but the rate at which passive smokers are seen to be getting affected is exponential.

The people that are most likely to be affected are the infants, the fetuses, the adults with severe respiratory disorders, the old and the weaker ones who consequently end up having coronary heart diseases as a result.

4. Are there groups in which the consequences of the problem are most severe?

Yes, there are certain age groups in which the problem is found to be more severe like the younger ones are most likely to get indulged in these activities during their college days.

The consequences of the problem could be severe amongst the sensitive part of the population and that are the infants, the children, the fetuses, and the older people.

They tend to suffer from fatal health due to the same as even passively it makes them breathe like 7000 of chemicals and affect their health in a deteriorating way.

The issue is therefore an important lacuna to be looked and filled into because not just the environment or the smokers are directly getting affected, it is affecting in a much merciless way on the health of second-hand smokers too.

5. What are the most common or most serious consequences of the problem?

This problem has a tendency to affect the smokers by degrading the immune system of their bodies, as the body becomes habitual, even leaving it at once becomes dangerously risky for the smokers.

This causes environmental degradation as well and in a way that does affect the whole population, if we consider the example of ozone layer depletion as it is caused due to some but the dangers are exposed to everybody equally.

Lastly, this has a probability of causing an unimaginably large number of fatal health-related diseases to those who are sensitive to it and are not even directly consuming it. Also, this leads to a decrease in the work efficiency of people, or as we consider here, the students, which obviously is a demerit for the society as this leads to inefficiency of the human resources.

6. What knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors are related to the problem? How widespread are they among your population?

a. Knowledge

People are aware of the problem and its disadvantages to their health as well as of the others, to the environment and also to the ones who haven’t been born yet but the problem lies in the relapse syndrome after the efficient effort of quitting that they commit.

This is not something that comes in the population of Australia due to illiteracy because a maximum of the people are educated and have just become habitual of smoking.

But somehow the people do not understand how hard it could get on everybody if it does not stop. Here educating the smokers to help and support them getting rid of smoking, helping non-smokers to be an aid to the process, act as a catalyst in the process of eliminating the menace would be a great initiative.

b. Attitudes:

Everyone is different and everyone has a different habit along with a different perspective or one can say the different approaches to a certain problem.

While some believe that the problem can be handled by forcefully stopping people from smoking is one such solution like the social marketing strategy was considered in the University of Queensland by banning the act of smoking.

Many non-smokers came forward to help while aiding to the procedure by inculcating in people, the knowledge, the awareness regarding the same.

c. Behaviors:

The behavior of people depends upon their personal approach towards the problem, their habits, their social ambiance and their mental ability to address the problem for many of the nonsmokers did help in the procedure to fight against the cause, some preferred to stay away and just keep themselves away from the ill effects.

The non-smokers made a strong pact so as to beware of any such thing coming across the way that could lead them to get indulged in what their smoker friends are in.

The smokers on the other part are trying to chuck out the issues that consequently lead them to go looking for a smoke again as a compulsive need though.

7. What approaches have been used to address the problem by other organisations?

Many organisations are working in the same direction so as to eliminate the problem from the Australian Society by spreading awareness, arranging educational camps, by providing medical help to the people who are trying to quit.

There are many such organisations working in tobacco control like the Department of Health, BRAMS, GRAMS, Commonwealth, all are working to achieve a society free of all these evils.

Now the approach is common within Australia as used by all the organisations because all are working in the same direction to combat the same problem. The difference is just of the variation in the categories of the population specified in different strata so as to have a unique yet common approach towards the solution-seeking of the problem.