P1- The origins of public health policy and legislation.
Promoting public health is the act of helping individuals to stay healthy and
protecting their lives from threats. It involves the acts of preventing disease,
prolonging life expectancy, and promoting health through organized efforts
of society. It is the act of making health achievable everywhere by
supporting individuals’ families and communities, working to improve health
and wellbeing whilst identifying risks in different places such as at home and
work. Using research, it identifies who is more at risk and applies it to real
live, giving everyone the opportunity to live long, healthy and fulfilling lives
through habits such as exercise that impact us now and long in the future to
live lives away from danger. Organizations aim to understand the huge
impact financial, social and environmental circumstances have on our health
and work in organized efforts to universalize help society.
Life expectancy: The average period that a person is expected to live
Legislations are laws set out by the government and supported through court
and play a crucial role in public health. It provides a framework for
practitioners and healthcare setting on how to meet goals and promote
societies wellbeing. Public health policy is the application of law and
regulations to promote improvements in health, it can be implemented in a
,variety of ways to achieve specific goals. Examples include Tobacco use to
address public health issues.
Public health issues
-Smoking
Smoking as a lifestyle factor has caused significant issues to public health in
the UK. Government statistics point to 64% of premature deaths in people
under the age of 65 are linked to smoking. It remains a substantial problem
in the youth with almost 90,000 regular smokers aged between 11 and 15.
One root cause is identified as the environment around them, the
government has argued one way to reduce this is to reduce smoking in the
world around them. Smoking impacts the entirety of the body with severe
negative health effects yet can impact non-smokers and the entirety of
society too. Passive smoking is the involuntary inhalation of smoke when
exposed to it, people exposed to second-hand smoke face the same dangers
as people who smoke themselves, inhaling the same poisonous gases.
Impacts include worsening conditions such as asthma and other respiratory
infections, increased risk of coronary heart disease by 25 to 30%, smoking
has a far-reaching impact on individuals, families and communities' public
health. Smoking in pregnancy increases health inequalities for the child and
is a catalyst for having a sick baby, increasing risks for miscarriages and
stillbirth. One-way legislations and organizational policies aimed to reduce
this is in July 2007, a ban from smoking in enclosed public spaces was
introduced as evidence shown passive smoking effects have increased.
Reducing smoking rates has been shown to significantly improve public
health. It can lead to a decrease in cardiovascular disease, respiratory
conditions, and cancer, which means people can live longer in better health.
The Office for National Statistics Adult smoking habits in the UK - Office for
National Statistics (ons.gov.uk) offers a breakdown on cigarette smoking
habits among adults, highlighting those impacted most were those without
qualifications (28.2%). 13.3% of people aged 18 years or older smoked
cigarettes, which equates to around 6.6 million people in the population. The
Office for Health Improvement and Disparities Smoking profile for England:
statistical commentary, March 2024 update - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) presents
the prevalence of current smokers with long-term mental health conditions in
2
,comparison to those without.
-Alcoholism
Public Health England Health matters: harmful drinking and alcohol
dependence - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) estimated that in 2016, 1.6 million
adults in England who have some level of alcohol dependency. Certain
characteristics can be defined as having cravings or a tolerance to alcohol
despite its harmful consequences. An analysis of risk factors and death
deduct that alcohol is the third leading risk factor for death and disability
after smoking and obesity, increasing the risk of a range of cancers including
mouth, bowel, stomach and liver. The Alcohol profile created by the Office
for Health Improvement and Disparities Alcohol Profiles for England: short
statistical commentary, May 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) bring together
alcohol-specific mortality and hospital admissions, highlighting the greatest
number of working years lost was in the North East region, which is a
measure of premature mortality, with a total of 105,545 working years of life
lost due to alcohol-related conditions. Alcohol impacts public health through
putting societies at risk at health, more than 1 in 10 visits to emergency
services are due to alcohol-related illnesses, drunk driving and violent and
antisocial behaviour put the community in higher danger. Furthermore,
drinking large amounts for many years takes a toll on the body's organs,
including the brain and nervous system, heart, and liver. Long-term alcohol
misuse can weaken your immune system, making you more vulnerable to
serious infections. Public Health England identified 60 medical conditions
3
, where alcohol has been a factor, such as mouth, throat, stomach, and liver
cancers, and even depression. A 2012 strategy set out by the government
offers a way to cut down on binge drinking, such as consult on a minimum
unit price for alcohol as well as a ban on the sale of multi-buy alcohol
discounting. However, statistics show that alcohol deaths per 100,000
population between 2016 and 2022 have had a slight rise, arguing that these
strategies have not been fully successful on protecting public health against
alcohol binge-drinking. Its consequences have detrimental effects state the
World Health Organisation (WHO) Alcohol (who.int) through its social and
economic losses, increasing mortality rate through 3 million deaths every
year.
History of public health
Edwin Chadwick- In the 1840s, Chadwick was employed by the Poor Law
Commission, a body set up by the government to help the poor out of taxes.
The BBC’s report The later 19th century - Developments in public health and
welfare – WJEC - GCSE History Revision - WJEC - BBC Bitesize outlines his
developments as he was asked to investigate living conditions in Britain.
Chadwick was born in Manchester, and in 1832 he was appointed responsible
for collecting data and information for the Commission. His writing was
critical of the old Poor Law system and recommended some major changes;
one criticism argued that the system had been left to be organized at a local
level and that there was no central authority for everyone. One of the
greatest hazards to Britain's public health was the outbreak of Cholera, viral
in dirty and crowded environments. Chadwick was appointed to investigate
the sanitation of the UK’s major cities and founded that the lack of public
health was directly related to the lifestyles endured by the impoverished, his
arguments concluded that improving the health of the poor would directly
benefit the entire nation. In his work Chadwick concluded three main things
that were needed to improve public health; refuse removal, an effective
sewerage system and clean running water, a qualified medical officer
appointed in each area. His report later brought about through the power of
Lord John Russell the Public Health Act in 1848, a legislation that aimed to
improve public health such as epidemics and disease prevention. Although
his work had those who strongly opposed.
William Beveridge- Born in 1879, Beveridge was a social economist whose
report aimed to provide a compulsory system of health insurance, reviewing
the operations of social insurance schemes and making recommendations.
The Beveridge Report published in 1942, Beveridge's directive was that the
4
Promoting public health is the act of helping individuals to stay healthy and
protecting their lives from threats. It involves the acts of preventing disease,
prolonging life expectancy, and promoting health through organized efforts
of society. It is the act of making health achievable everywhere by
supporting individuals’ families and communities, working to improve health
and wellbeing whilst identifying risks in different places such as at home and
work. Using research, it identifies who is more at risk and applies it to real
live, giving everyone the opportunity to live long, healthy and fulfilling lives
through habits such as exercise that impact us now and long in the future to
live lives away from danger. Organizations aim to understand the huge
impact financial, social and environmental circumstances have on our health
and work in organized efforts to universalize help society.
Life expectancy: The average period that a person is expected to live
Legislations are laws set out by the government and supported through court
and play a crucial role in public health. It provides a framework for
practitioners and healthcare setting on how to meet goals and promote
societies wellbeing. Public health policy is the application of law and
regulations to promote improvements in health, it can be implemented in a
,variety of ways to achieve specific goals. Examples include Tobacco use to
address public health issues.
Public health issues
-Smoking
Smoking as a lifestyle factor has caused significant issues to public health in
the UK. Government statistics point to 64% of premature deaths in people
under the age of 65 are linked to smoking. It remains a substantial problem
in the youth with almost 90,000 regular smokers aged between 11 and 15.
One root cause is identified as the environment around them, the
government has argued one way to reduce this is to reduce smoking in the
world around them. Smoking impacts the entirety of the body with severe
negative health effects yet can impact non-smokers and the entirety of
society too. Passive smoking is the involuntary inhalation of smoke when
exposed to it, people exposed to second-hand smoke face the same dangers
as people who smoke themselves, inhaling the same poisonous gases.
Impacts include worsening conditions such as asthma and other respiratory
infections, increased risk of coronary heart disease by 25 to 30%, smoking
has a far-reaching impact on individuals, families and communities' public
health. Smoking in pregnancy increases health inequalities for the child and
is a catalyst for having a sick baby, increasing risks for miscarriages and
stillbirth. One-way legislations and organizational policies aimed to reduce
this is in July 2007, a ban from smoking in enclosed public spaces was
introduced as evidence shown passive smoking effects have increased.
Reducing smoking rates has been shown to significantly improve public
health. It can lead to a decrease in cardiovascular disease, respiratory
conditions, and cancer, which means people can live longer in better health.
The Office for National Statistics Adult smoking habits in the UK - Office for
National Statistics (ons.gov.uk) offers a breakdown on cigarette smoking
habits among adults, highlighting those impacted most were those without
qualifications (28.2%). 13.3% of people aged 18 years or older smoked
cigarettes, which equates to around 6.6 million people in the population. The
Office for Health Improvement and Disparities Smoking profile for England:
statistical commentary, March 2024 update - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) presents
the prevalence of current smokers with long-term mental health conditions in
2
,comparison to those without.
-Alcoholism
Public Health England Health matters: harmful drinking and alcohol
dependence - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) estimated that in 2016, 1.6 million
adults in England who have some level of alcohol dependency. Certain
characteristics can be defined as having cravings or a tolerance to alcohol
despite its harmful consequences. An analysis of risk factors and death
deduct that alcohol is the third leading risk factor for death and disability
after smoking and obesity, increasing the risk of a range of cancers including
mouth, bowel, stomach and liver. The Alcohol profile created by the Office
for Health Improvement and Disparities Alcohol Profiles for England: short
statistical commentary, May 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) bring together
alcohol-specific mortality and hospital admissions, highlighting the greatest
number of working years lost was in the North East region, which is a
measure of premature mortality, with a total of 105,545 working years of life
lost due to alcohol-related conditions. Alcohol impacts public health through
putting societies at risk at health, more than 1 in 10 visits to emergency
services are due to alcohol-related illnesses, drunk driving and violent and
antisocial behaviour put the community in higher danger. Furthermore,
drinking large amounts for many years takes a toll on the body's organs,
including the brain and nervous system, heart, and liver. Long-term alcohol
misuse can weaken your immune system, making you more vulnerable to
serious infections. Public Health England identified 60 medical conditions
3
, where alcohol has been a factor, such as mouth, throat, stomach, and liver
cancers, and even depression. A 2012 strategy set out by the government
offers a way to cut down on binge drinking, such as consult on a minimum
unit price for alcohol as well as a ban on the sale of multi-buy alcohol
discounting. However, statistics show that alcohol deaths per 100,000
population between 2016 and 2022 have had a slight rise, arguing that these
strategies have not been fully successful on protecting public health against
alcohol binge-drinking. Its consequences have detrimental effects state the
World Health Organisation (WHO) Alcohol (who.int) through its social and
economic losses, increasing mortality rate through 3 million deaths every
year.
History of public health
Edwin Chadwick- In the 1840s, Chadwick was employed by the Poor Law
Commission, a body set up by the government to help the poor out of taxes.
The BBC’s report The later 19th century - Developments in public health and
welfare – WJEC - GCSE History Revision - WJEC - BBC Bitesize outlines his
developments as he was asked to investigate living conditions in Britain.
Chadwick was born in Manchester, and in 1832 he was appointed responsible
for collecting data and information for the Commission. His writing was
critical of the old Poor Law system and recommended some major changes;
one criticism argued that the system had been left to be organized at a local
level and that there was no central authority for everyone. One of the
greatest hazards to Britain's public health was the outbreak of Cholera, viral
in dirty and crowded environments. Chadwick was appointed to investigate
the sanitation of the UK’s major cities and founded that the lack of public
health was directly related to the lifestyles endured by the impoverished, his
arguments concluded that improving the health of the poor would directly
benefit the entire nation. In his work Chadwick concluded three main things
that were needed to improve public health; refuse removal, an effective
sewerage system and clean running water, a qualified medical officer
appointed in each area. His report later brought about through the power of
Lord John Russell the Public Health Act in 1848, a legislation that aimed to
improve public health such as epidemics and disease prevention. Although
his work had those who strongly opposed.
William Beveridge- Born in 1879, Beveridge was a social economist whose
report aimed to provide a compulsory system of health insurance, reviewing
the operations of social insurance schemes and making recommendations.
The Beveridge Report published in 1942, Beveridge's directive was that the
4
