It seems cancer can’t even deter people from smoking.
A new study has found that about 10 percent of cancer survivors are still smoking nearly a decade later. Study authors say that these survivors of cancer need assistance with letting go of the smoking habit and highlighted how difficult it can be to really quit smoking, even after you have suffered the consequences.
According to interviews with the cancer survivors nine years later, 41.2 percent were former smokers and 49.6 percent were never smokers, while 83.1 percent of the current smokers conceded to smoking every day – average smokers smoked 15 cigarettes a day. Also, close to half (46.6 percent) said they plan to quit, 43.3 percent were unsure and 10.1 did not have any plans whatsoever.
The study also found that the number was greater for survivors from bladder and lung cancers, two areas that are strongly correlated with smoking. Researchers say that smoking diminishes the effects of the cancer treatment, reduces survival time and increases the possibility of recurrence.
When analyzing the demographics, researchers found that survivors who were described younger, female, had lower education and lower income were most likely to remain smokers. Married smokers also had fewer intentions to quit, a surprising finding to researchers.
Here is what the study authors wrote:
“Effective cessation treatment for cancer survivors exists, but future population-based studies examining the importance of psychosocial variables, and their relationships to other health-related variables in predicting current smoking or motivation to quit, will further contribute to enhancing cessation strategies for all survivors who smoke.”
They added in the report:
“Those who smoke heavily long after their diagnosis may require more intense treatment addressing specific psychosocial characteristics such as perceptions of risk, beliefs of fatalism, etc. that may influence motivation to quit.”
Lee Westmaas, director of tobacco control research at the cancer society and lead study researcher, that one way to circumvent this problem is for doctors to ask patients about their smoking habits and provide tips to help them quit.
“For these patients, quitting smoking is the single best thing they can do to increase their survival and improve their general health in the long run,” explained Westmaas.
Dr. Norman Edelman, senior medical advisor to the American Lung Association, told WebMD that he isn’t necessarily shocked by the results of the study. He said that it’s quite common in his clinic to see patients still smoke, whether they have an illness or don’t.
Moving forward, this research may help medical professionals to initiate contact with cancer survivors to ensure that they’re not smoking.
Nevertheless, doctors agreed that it’s never too late to quit smoking.
The findings from nearly 3,000 United States adults who took part in the study were published in the Aug. 6 online edition of journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are an estimated one billion smokers in the world and tobacco consumption is on the rise internationally – though it’s decreasing in developed countries. Smoking kills roughly 5.4 million people each year and accounts for one in 10 adult deaths globally.
In the last century alone, 100 million deaths were attributed to cigarette smoking, and that number could swell to one billion deaths in this century.
