News: Cancer patients don’t quit smoking

Dear smokers,

I’m not one to pass judgement on anybody’s habits and/or lifestyle choices. Smoking is of course very bad for your health and the health of the people around you, but you already know that. and for the I get that smoking is a very difficult habit to break and maybe you haven’t been able to kick it yet. But here’s my question for you: If you were (God forbid) diagnosed with a smoking-related cancer, would you butt out? Before you answer, consider this: New research suggests that 30 percent of cancer patients surveyed don’t quit after their diagnosis.

This stat surprised me, but not the study’s lead researcher Kathryn E. Weaver, an assistant professor in the Department of Social Sciences and Health Policy at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina.

"Smoking is a very addictive behavior and it can be difficult to quit smoking. Many of our cancer patients do want to quit smoking and have tried many times in the past, but have been unsuccessful," she says in a press release.

What’s more, 45 percent of family members of patients who have smoking-related cancer still light up despite watching their loved one suffer from the effects of the habit.

It could be argued, as Weaver does, that cancer is a very stressful life event that would make it difficult for both patients and caregivers to quit a comforting habit. But smoking when you already have cancer could lead to secondary cancers and complications in treatment.

So tell me, what would it take to get you to quit smoking for good?

Related:
‘ The five deadliest cancers for women
‘ "How I quit smoking"
‘ How quitting smoking can give you gorgeous skin