Tobacco: A Global Threat by John Crofton, David Simpson. Macmillan, £6.95, pp 147. ISBN 0 333 67081 7. This book can be ordered for £4.70+p&p from www.talcuk.org. Rating: ★★★
Nicotine addiction through various forms of tobacco use is a worldwide epidemic. Although concerted efforts have led to encouraging signs of a fall in smoking in affluent countries, rates of smoking in less well off and developing countries are increasing enormously. It is of paramount importance that healthcare professionals form a united front to act against this epidemic.
Tobacco: A Global Threat is primarily aimed at activists and advocates in anti-smoking campaigns. However, it is of use to health professionals, journalists, politicians, and anyone who cares about the health of individuals and communities as a whole. The authors have years of experience in campaigning against tobacco and have produced a user friendly volume containing a range of information about global tobacco use, including smoking related morbidity and mortality statistics. They emphasise the need to focus attention on new at risk groups, such as women, children, adolescents, and socially disadvantaged people.
As well as covering the science of tobacco and the dangers of active and passive smoking, Crofton and Simpson include case studies of people from various ethnic backgrounds to illustrate the global impact of smoking. They highlight the theoretical and practical aspects of smoking cessation at individual, national, and international levels.
Figures, tables, and graphs illustrate important points and, at the end of each chapter, key messages are succinctly stated along with a list of useful references. I welcome the inclusion of World Health Organization questionnaires that readers can use to carry out surveys to find out the extent of the smoking problem locally. The one thing that slightly disappointed me was that the list of “Sources of Further Help” was relatively limited.
As a clinician, I fully appreciate the tremendous effort that the authors have put into this book. On the surface the global threat of tobacco seems a straightforward enough subject, but it is highly complicated, and Crofton and Simpson have made a successful attempt at providing us with an overview. They make the reader think about what can be done to organise smoking counselling and cessation programmes at practice level. Overall, they remind clinicians and smokers alike of the pressing need to face the real threat of tobacco and do something about it.
Tobacco: A Global Threat contains an impressively wide range of relevant materials and information. It will make an interesting—and entertaining—read for all who care about themselves and everyone around them.