A quarter of cancer patients smokers. Those who can give up cigarettes have higher survival rates and cope better with surgery and chemotherapy. Qualified centers help achieve the goal
Never too late to quit smoking. Even when you are diagnosed with cancer, there are many benefits to be gained avoiding tobacco during and after treatmentbut it is not at all obvious that people embark on this undertaking at a difficult time in their lives, when they are already facing a complex disease such as cancer and the stress that comes with it. Nor is it so certain that patients are urged to do so by the oncologists who treat them or refer them to an Anti-Smoking Center where they can find competent professionals to help them achieve the goal.
Help to overcome crises in the hospital
Yet numerous scientific studies have shown that cancer patients who say goodbye to cigarettes, compared to heavy smokers, have better survival rates, a higher quality of life and higher success rates in surgery, in chemo and radiotherapy treatments and in treatments with biological drugs. The problem affects a significant percentage of people: about a quarter of cancer patients who arrive in specialized cancer hospitals are smokers. Not surprisingly, tobacco is one of the main causes for many types of cancer – he comments Roberto Boffi, head of Pneumology at the IRCCS National Cancer Institute of Milan -. And it is estimated that between 50 and 80 percent of cancer smokers continue even after the cancer is discovered. Several researches have also documented that starting the smoking cessation in the hospital, during anticancer therapies, it can help patients a lot both to overcome nicotine withdrawal crises and to be successful in the enterprise, given the many restrictions in place when hospitalized and the great motivation that people can have in that juncture. However, only a small number of oncology specialists are informed about the smoking habits of their patients and advises them to stop.
Stop at least one month before entering the operating room
Thus was born the Smoking cessation training in Italian cancer centers project conceived by the National Cancer Institute (Int) of Milan and by the Salute Donna Onlus association, financed by the Umberto Veronesi Foundation, which provides on the one hand training for 400 doctors in 15 cancer centers throughout Italy in order to prepare them to evaluate and treat smoking and on the other hand the creation of information material for patients on the benefits of cessation. Every year in Italy 377 thousand people receive a diagnosis of cancer – adds Boffi, who coordinator of the project and member of the Scientific Committee of the Veronesi Foundation for the fight against smoking -: thousands of people who could benefit from smoking cessation, have a greater chance of overcoming cancer treatments and improve the quality of their lives. Those who don’t say goodbye to tobacco are more likely to experience complications after surgery, the ideal would be to stop at least a month before entering the operating room. All smokers have a greater chance of infection and greater difficulty in healing from surgical wounds. Tobacco impairs the response to many drugs, including painkillers, and increases the risk of side effects related to treatments, including radiation therapy, as well as that of causing second cancers. Statistics in hand, only six out of 100 people manage to quit smoking on their own, but the data show that the odds of success go up a lot if you ask for help from experienced personnel: using together drug therapy and psychological support, each withdrawal attempt increases the probability of success by 25% compared to the previous one.
Who prescribes medicines
In addition, for those who intend to reduce the number of cigarettes a day but are not yet able or determined to eliminate them altogether, starting gradually with craving drugs can help achieve the goal. Unfortunately, Italy is among the countries, among the last in Europe, which still does not reimburse the drugs of drug therapy for smoking cessation (from nicotine substitutes, such as patches, gums, candies, inhalers and sublingual sprays, to those that reduce the craving for smoking and withdrawal symptoms, such as bupropion, varenicline and cytisine) – points out Chiara Veronese, pharmacologist at the Int Anti-Smoking Center and coordinator of the initiative together with Boffi -. Only from August 2019 was the possibility of prescribing the varenicline, a drug that has shown excellent long-term efficacy in smoking cessation, fully paid for by the National Health Service for smokers suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (BPCO) and those in secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease, but cancer patients are not yet included. The treatment must be prescribed by the doctor who establishes times and dosages and several studies indicate that taking these drugs the chances of quitting are more than double compared to not taking any therapy. If it is true that the cost in our country is still borne by the patient, it also largely compensates for the money saved from the purchase of cigarettes.
Raising the price of tobacco helps to say enough is enough
Tobacco alone responsible for thousands of cancer cases diagnosed every year, cardio-circulatory diseases such as stroke or arteriosclerosis, respiratory diseases starting from Bpco, bronchitis and pneumonia. According to statistics, four out of 10 Italian smokers want to quit, but they are alone – he recalls Paolo Veronesi, president of the Umberto Veronesi Foundation -. Train the health personnel of cancer centers in smoking cessation an important first step, which is why the Foundation financially supports the initiative. From our research conducted in recent years it has clearly emerged that increasing the price of tobacco is fundamental because, faced with the hypothesis of higher costs, Italian smokers would stop smoking or reduce the number of cigarettes per day. Foundation then sent a petition to Parliament to raise excise duties on cigarettes, loose and heated tobacco. a necessary and urgent measure to mitigate the impact of smoking-related diseases, discourage the approach to products containing tobacco and mobilize the resources necessary to meet the needs of smokers and patients.
September 23, 2021 (change September 24, 2021 | 14:37)
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