Introduction
Tobacco is the leading contributor to avoidable health complications and deaths globally. In the U.S., the burden of tobacco-related health problems and deaths is mainly held by African-Americans, primarily influenced by aggressive targeting by the tobacco industry. There are unfairly distributed effects of tobacco by race due to the targeting of blacks in advertising. Research has indicated that black Americans start smoking at an older age and are more likely to succumb to tobacco-related complications (Romeo-Stuppy et al., 2022). African Americans are a minority population in the U.S. singled out to endure the health challenges related to tobacco use hence a social injustice.
Discussion
Tobacco injustice is a national issue that falls under the healthcare policy sector at the macro-level of the multi-level framework of social advocacy. Minority blacks endure health challenges accruing from social injustice. Since the policy seeks to change dysfunctional government policies through a federal amendment to regulate selective marketing, it is macro-policy advocacy (Jansson, 2019). Recent research has found that tobacco companies use black figures and cultural inclinations in advertisements causing high tobacco consumption and relative effects among black communities (Romeo-Stuppy et al., 2022). Therefore, a policy to hinder culturally tailored advertising by the tobacco industry is necessary to combat the injustice.
Conclusion
Tobacco injustice is a core problem in developing preventative strategies to decrease social problems. The intervention policy will mitigate targeted marketing and tobacco-related problems among African Americans, making it a preventative policy. Social workers should prioritize health and human challenges that stimulate social injustice (Jansson, 2019). A healthcare public policy to prevent targeted marketing against black Americans implemented at the federal level could be engaged for greater social justice. The proposed advocacy is a macro-policy, given that only the federal government can implement it.
References
Jansson, B. S. (2019). Social welfare policy and advocacy: Advancing social justice through eight policy sectors. SAGE Publications. Web.
Romeo-Stuppy, K., Huber, L., Toebes, B., Yerger, V., & Senkubuge, F. (2022). Tobacco industry: a barrier to social justice.