The article by Yun et al. (2015) titled, “Household and area income levels are associated with smoking status in the Korean adult population” regarding the problem of smoking among adults will be analyzed. The authors assessed how smoking rates were affected by income levels by studying Korean adults. The questions they sought to answer were: Do household and area income levels affect the level of smoking? If yes, by how much? The study included 222,242 participants, where 103,124 were men while 119,118 were women. A standard questionnaire was used to collect the required information about the smoking status of each household or area. The findings indicated a correlation between income levels and smoking, where an increase in income levels was associated with higher rates of smoking, regardless of gender and setting. However, when area levels were analyzed, the rate of smoking was higher in the lowest area-level income group among men, but lower among women and vice versa. Consequently, it was concluded that smoking was highly dependent on household income levels and partly dependent on area income levels. The target audience for this paper was the general public.
The article’s strength is in its proper organization, as well dispensation. The source of data that was analyzed was also critical in ensuring trust in the reported findings. The method of data collection used was simple, but sufficient enough to collect the required information for the study. The sample size of 222,242 was sufficient to represent the entire South Korean population. The setting of the study, both urban and rural, and the aspect of analyzing both sexes make the results applicable with ease. The findings are also in agreement with findings from other studies (Siahpush, Borland, & Scollo, 2003 and Gilman, Abrams, & Buka, 2003), thereby increasing the relevance of the findings.
This article presents fundamental ideas that are highly applicable in addressing the problem of smoking among adults. It is important to understand that harmful smoking is more prevalent among the well-off households. However, in terms of area-level, the rate is different for the two sexes. These ideas are critical in designing strategies to address the vice of smoking among men and women of different economic and social statuses. Using these findings can help in formulating guidelines that are specific to men, women, and different social classes to combat smoking.
Prior to the analysis of these findings, I hypothesized that the rate of smoking was proportional to the income. These results support the hypothesis partly. In terms of household income, the findings support the hypothesis adequately. However, the findings refute the hypothesis when it comes to area income levels among women. These findings necessitate other studies that will characterize the features of household and area income responsible for the observed differences. Such studies will also provide an opportunity to understand individual factors that predispose one to smoke, which also accounts for the observed differences.
References
Gilman, S. E., Abrams, D. B., & Buka, S. L. (2003). Socioeconomic status over the life course and stages of cigarette use: initiation, regular use, and cessation. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 57(10), 802–808.
Siahpush, M., Borland, R., & Scollo, M. (2003). Smoking and financial stress. Tobacco Control, 12(1), 60–66.
Yun, W., Rhee, J., Kim, S. A., Kweon, S… & Lee, Y. et al. (2015). Household and are income levels are associated with smoking status in the Korean adult population. BMC Public Health, 15, 39.