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What should a smoker do if diagnosed with cancer?
On October 20, 2020, the media published data presented by Dr. Peter Harper, an oncologist at King Edward Hospital in London, at the VI Congress of the Russian Society of Head and Neck Tumors.
According to Dr. Haper, quitting smoking is by far the best option. “But giving up this habit can be very difficult, especially for a cancer patient.” According to the professor, up to 64% of smokers continue to smoke after an oncological diagnosis. He also cited data from a study by the Netherlands RIVM Institute, the results of which clearly demonstrate the effectiveness of reducing the risk of developing cancer from 10 to 20 times, depending on different types of malignancies, when switching from cigarette smoking to heated tobacco consumption. They also offered to introduce the concept of harm reduction from the influence of cigarettes to their Russian colleagues. In particular, he recommended that patients switch to innovative products with reduced risk.
The effect of smoking on the risk of developing malignant tumors has been thoroughly studied. Based on a summary of the results of epidemiological and experimental studies, the working groups of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) concluded that tobacco smoking is carcinogenic to humans and leads to the development of at least 15 forms of cancer. Cigarette smoking is the cause of at least 25-30% of all malignant tumors. The strongest relationship can be traced in cancer of the lung, larynx, esophagus, and bladder.
In 2019, the ZIRCON research group, with the support of the NP "Equal Right to Life" and Public Movement "For a Healthy Russia", conducted a sociological study on the topic "Control and management of risk factors for the development of non-communicable diseases" in 4 regions of Russia. Its main goal was to obtain and analyze information characterizing the self-assessment by the population of the cities of Veliky Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Kazan, Ivanovo of their state of health, current lifestyle and habits (including sports, nutrition, alcohol and tobacco consumption), awareness and behavior in areas of health care. More than 2,000 people took part in the survey.
Of particular interest, from the point of view of reducing the risks of developing NCDs, is the respondents' assessment of the degree of dependence on smoking, the reasons for using tobacco products and the impact of government measures on reducing the level of tobacco consumption. The survey revealed the average number of smokers in each region, which amounted to about 36% of the total, while the group of heavy smokers - 12%. Basically, these are males with a total smoking experience of 24 years. Up to 50% of smokers do not attribute their health problems to smoking, and most of them have never received advice from doctors to stop smoking. Most of the respondents (up to 65%) noted that they had a history of unsuccessful attempts to quit smoking, which is an absolute demotivating factor for giving up cigarettes. Also of particular concern are the results of a survey of respondents, which notes that none of the possible government measures to combat smoking did not and cannot affect their decision to continue smoking. Approximately 1/3 of smokers were not aware of alternative nicotine-containing products, but it was also noted that if scientific studies of alternative nicotine delivery systems were properly carried out, this could cause up to 20% of smokers to refuse industrial cigarettes.
