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Smokers not quitting after cancer diagnosis

• By Gemma Collins on  19 October 2011 - 6Minutes

 
A cancer diagnosis is not motivating smokers to quit, suggesting the need for a smoking cessation intervention, an Australian study has found.

A survey of 100 patients who were newly diagnosed with cancer and receiving radiotherapy, found that half of the smokers made no reduction in their smoking habits and only two out of the 14 quit altogether, according to the study (link) in the Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Oncology (online Oct 18).

The researchers in Victoria and Queensland found one current smoker even increased their smoking after being diagnosed with melanoma while another breast cancer patient took-up the habit.

Any changes in smoking habits occurred within the first 30 days of diagnosis.

Around 79% of the smokers believed that the radiation oncologist should discuss smoking cessation with them and they thought that the first consultation would be the ideal time.

“…the diagnosis of cancer alone is not sufficient to obtain the benefits from smoking cessation by radiotherapy patients and some form of intervention may be appropriate,” the researchers say.  

“The results relating to the receptiveness of the patients to intervention seem to support the concept of radiotherapy providing a ‘teachable moment’ for accepting smoking cessation and perhaps other lifestyle changes.”

They do suggest that the patients are screened for symptoms of depression and anxiety as well as smoking cessation as part of standard cancer care. 

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Quitters need support to try and try again

• By Gemma Collins on  14 October 2011

Smokers make many failed attempts to quit, suggesting more needs to be done to reduce long-term relapse, Australian researchers have found. 

Using data involving more than 21,000 smokers, researchers from Cancer Council Victoria found that the majority of quitters succeeded in staying smoke-free for more than a month, with one third having stopped for more than six months.

And the average 40-year-old smoker who started in their teens will have made over 20 failed quit attempts, according to the study (link) published in Addiction (online 12 Oct).

The review of the data from the International Tobacco Control 4-Country survey that involved smokers from Australia, Canada, UK and the US, also revealed that it was very common for smokers to think about quitting but never attempting to do it.

The researchers suggest “smoking cessation is clearly on the minds of most smokers” but the “key challenge” is helping smokers stay quit long term.

And they recommend there needs to be different interventions for those who think about quitting, those who attempt to quit and fail and those who are able to stay smoke-free for a longer amount of time.

“There is a huge amount of unsuccessful quitting activity going on among smokers.,” they say.

“We need to review what we consider to be success when around one third of current smokers have achieved that milestone (six months abstinence) in the past.”