Receipt of provider advice for smoking cessation and use of smoking cessation treatments among cancer survivors.
BACKGROUND
As the number of cancer survivors increases, the assessment and intervention for smoking among survivors are increasingly important.


OBJECTIVE
This study examined the extent to which cancer survivors reported being asked and advised about smoking by health-care providers and their use of smoking cessation treatments during quit attempts.


METHODS
The data were drawn from the 2005 National Health Interview Survey, an annual health survey of US adults.


METHODS
The participants were 1,825 individuals who reported being diagnosed with cancer at least 1 year previously and provided data regarding their current smoking status.


METHODS
Participants completed items assessing demographics, health and health-care factors, and smoking-related variables.


RESULTS
More than three-quarters of participants (81.0%) reported that their smoking status was known by a health-care provider. Among current smokers (17.6%) who visited a health-care provider in the past year, 72.2% reported being advised to quit smoking by a provider. Factors associated with a higher rate of receiving advice to quit included greater cigarette consumption (P=0.008), more medical comorbidities (P= 0.001), high psychological distress (P= 0.003), and lack of health-care insurance (P = 0.03). Among current smokers who tried to quit in the last year, 33.5% used pharmacotherapy cessation treatment and 3.8% used an evidence-based behavioral treatment.


CONCLUSIONS
This study reveals considerable missed opportunities for health-care providers to advise cancer survivors about smoking and provide evidence-based interventions. Systematic efforts are needed to increase the provision of smoking cessation advice and use of cessation treatments among cancer survivors.
Cancer Prevention and Control Program, Fox Chase Cancer Center, 510 Township Line Road, Philadelphia, PA 19012, USA. Elliot.Coups@fccc.edu
Elliot J
EJ
Coups
Lara K
LK
Dhingra
Carolyn J
CJ
Heckman
Sharon L
SL
Manne
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000379:methods*; D017741:Survivors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult