Tobacco use is one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced, killing more than 8 million people a year, including around 1.2 million deaths from exposure to second-hand smoke (WHO). Learn about tobacco and nicotine use, its health effects and its effects on the (global) burden of disease and thus, its relevance to Public Health. Gain a better understanding of factors contributing to socially patterned tobacco use and cessation outcomes and various forms of interventions for smoking cessation.

By completing this seminar, learners will:

• Know the current prevalence and overall trends of combustible tobacco use in Germany and worldwide
• Gain an understanding of the health effects of smoking
• Understand the social determinants of smoking
• Be able to identify factors contributing to difficulties with smoking cessation
• Learn about the various forms of interventions for smoking cessation
• Be able to explain the concept of harm reduction with the example of vaping
• Gain Knowledge about novel approaches to smoking cessation (i.e., mHealth)

Social inequalities manifest in many forms within and between societies: in systematic differences in access to education, housing, employment and wealth, as well as in access to health care and other forms of social protection. Differences tend to emerge along particular dividing lines or between 'social status groups' which in turn can lead to discrimination. The impact of various social determinants on physical and mental health, both at the individual and collective level, is profound and should be understood as 'social determinants of health'. Social inequalities are therefore closely linked to health inequalities and this has huge implications for social justice in a society.

This seminar provides both a theory-based introduction to social determinants of health (part 1, theory) and a contextual analysis of the role(s) that gender plays as a social determinant (part 2, case study). We will examine constructs of gender in Global Health research and practice, analyze who profits and who is harmed by which attributions, and reflect on our own positionality as researchers and Public Health practitioners when designing, implementing and evaluating interventions that (also) address gender justice.

Course language is English and we will read English texts and watch English film excerpts, but you are always welcome to talk German in class.