Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
is encouraged. However, the most obvious pernicious effects of life-style choices
come from the increase in the use of addictive substances that drastically reduce the
life-span of people using such products. For example, despite the now well-known
health hazards of smoking, an estimated 1.2 billion people still use tobacco regular-
ly and the proportions of smokers in even OECD countries is often still over 20 %.
This also puts the individuals adjacent to smokers at a high risk of smoke inhalation,
either first or second hand, and leads to higher rates of respiratory problems and
cancers. Similarly, drug use leads to premature deaths and other crime problems.
But a more general problem comes from the overuse of alcohol, which leads to liver
and heart diseases, as well as contributions to traffic accidents. A recent study re-
vealed that 25 % of Russian males die before the age of 55—compared to 7 % in the
U. K.—with an average age of death for males at 64, a result of overconsumption of
vodka (Zaridze and peto et al.
2014
). However there is also evidence that beer and
wine in small proportions has a positive effect on health (Preedy
2011
) and helped
reduce mortality rates in historic cities where beer with alcohol killing bacteria was
safer than contaminated water.
All these problems require determined efforts to produce a reduction of addiction
levels. In the case of tobacco use many initiatives have helped reduce the problem,
such as: increasing taxes and banning advertising on products, adding health warn-
ings, increasing educational programmes to avoid or reduce use, and banning their
use in public spaces—but the constant litigation by tobacco companies has reduced
progress. Still more effective policies are needed, which probably need a combina-
tion of persuasion and regulation. Outright prohibition of products drives the issue
underground, and criminalizes the behaviour, as shown by the U.S. prohibition of
alcohol in 1920-1933. Many of the anti-tobacco policies could be applied to reduce
binge drinking. The same applies to drug use, where despite billions spent in attack-
ing the sources of supply and distribution the problem is as worse as ever. Some
have argued that removing criminal prosecutions and treating drug use as a medical,
not criminal, problem would help reduce the addictions. But the majority opinion
is still against such a change, which means that alternative methods must be found.
A more recent health problem associated with life-style relates to dietary choices.
Changes in the diet of people in many western countries, with overconsumption of
sugary drinks and foods rich in fat, red meat, sugar and salt has led to increased obe-
sity, leading to a greater probability of ill-health from a number of diseases. For ex-
ample, it is currently estimated that one-third of school age children in the U.S.A and
two-thirds of American adults are overweight or obese, with far higher rates in Afro-
American and Hispanic women (Ogden et al.
2014
). Being overweight or obese
increases the risk from a variety of chronic diseases, especially heart failure, stroke
and diabetes which are among the top causes of mortality with numbers projected
to increase substantially in the next 15 years (Table
13.1
). This trend is not simply a
result of increasing purchasing power—although this makes a huge contribution—
but also comes from the relentless advertising by manufacturers to increase demand
for their products, especially to children, creating what amounts to an obesogenic
environment. In addition far larger portions of most meals and drinks are available
compared to 30 years ago, which compounds the problem. Another contributing fac-
tor is the limited availability of healthy food options in low-income areas.
