Evaluate the effectiveness of management and mitigation strategies for a
non-communicable disease you have studied (9)
The implementation of the sugar tax has, on the surface, been successful in the short term
at combating incidence of Coronary Heart Disease in the UK. Overall, the sale of sugary
drinks in the UK has decreased by over 25% in replacement for alternative sweeteners, in
this sense the campaign can be viewed as a major success as it has, on paper, decreased
coronary heart disease overall. When the sugar tax is analysed critically, however, the
success is not so clear. Firstly, people quickly get used to paying the inflated price for sugar,
decreasing the plan's long-term effectiveness. As well as this, although causing CHD to a
lesser extent than sugar, the sweeteners which have replaced the sugar increase incidence
of CHD by 8%, therefore showing that the plan was overall unsuccessful as a management
or mitigation strategy at combating CHD.
Some Geographers argue that, although the sugar tax was largely unsuccessful, the NHS’s
stop smoking campaign was more successful. The number of smokers in the UK has been
decreasing at a rapid rate, according to some studies, at over 1% per year, vastly decreasing
the incidence of coronary heart disease, considering smoking is one of the main lifestyle
factors which cause CHD and therefore shows how the NHS’s campaign is reducing the
incidence of CHD. As with the sugar tax, however, the results from the NHS stop smoking
campaign can be analysed critically and it is not all positive. For example, although the NHS
itself claims the campaign is very effective, an independent survey suggested that as low
10% of all who stop smoking can be attributed to the campaign, suggesting that the
campaign is, overall, not very effective with mitigating the effects of CHD in the UK.
The most impactful management strategy to mitigate the impacts of coronary heart disease,
therefore, is awareness campaigns, such as that from the British Heart Foundation. The
British Heart Foundation regularly raises over £140 million each year and 80% of this money
is being spent, not only on treating patients and mitigating the effects of CHD, but also on
raising awareness around CHD, for example, the British Heart Foundation were institutional
in the ‘understanding coronary heart disease’ campaign, leading to an overall decrease in
the incidence of CHD. As well as this, the charity was institutional in pushing forward
government legislation such as the sugar tax, as well as other, lesser known campaigns,
such as the clear labelling on food packaging. These strategies had a massive impact on
lifestyle factors, therefore decreasing overall incidence of coronary heart disease.
In conclusion, although some strategies, such as the British Heart Foundation, have been
largely successful at mitigating and managing coronary heart disease, other strategies such
as the NHS’s stop smoking campaign or sugar tax have been unsuccessful overall. For
example, although the British Heart Foundation has been key in implementing legislation
such as proper food labelling, people have quickly got used to paying the inflated prices of
the sugar tax and very few who stop smoking can actually be attributed to the NHS’s stop
smoking campaign showing that, overall, management or mitigation strategies have been
largely unsuccessful in combating coronary heart disease.
