|
| Stop Smoking Clinic |
Question:
Why Can't Cancer Patients Stop Smoking?
Answer:
One out of four patients who undergo
disfiguring head or neck surgery for smoking-related cancers still can't
kick the habit.
Many of these people desperately want to, says lead researcher Sonia
Duffy, but getting through the cancer surgery is often their main
priority. And, ironically, she adds, smoking helps provide many with a
coping mechanism.
A recent study of 202 heart-transplant patients at the University of
Pittsburgh showed similarly distressing smoking rates. Seventy-one
percent of those patients were regular smokers before their transplant,
and 27 percent started lighting up again as soon as they'd made it
through the first stage of recovery.
Physicians are aware of addiction issues, they may refer
patients to a smoking clinic, a substance abuse clinic, or a psychiatric
clinic.
|
|
