Smoking cessation intervention most cost-effective treatment

Cigarette smoking remains the single most preventable cause of death in the United States.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), tobacco is the second major cause of death in the world and is responsible for the death of one in 10 adults worldwide. If current smoking patterns continue, WHO predicts tobacco use will cause some 10 million deaths each year by 2020.

Aside from being the fourth most common risk factor for diseases worldwide, WHO says the economic costs of tobacco use are equally devastating since money that could be used for other services is spent on treatment of smoking-related diseases.

According to WHO, it was reported in 1994 that tobacco use had resulted in an annual global net loss of $2 billion, a third of this loss being in developing countries.

In a concerted effort to save millions of lives threatened by smoking-related illnesses as well as considerable money spent in treatment of such diseases, governments are encouraged to adopt stronger public health policies on smoking. 

For one, the US Public Health Service issued guidelines calling for smokers to use smoking cessation aids to help 45 million American smokers kick the habit. 

WHO, for its part, has been advocating that smoking cessation policies and interventions be introduced in every country’s health systems. 

In its European Tobacco Control Policy Series, WHO says a 2000 report by the US Surgeon General emphasizes that smoking cessation is one of the most cost-effective of all healthcare treatments. 

Introducing smoking cessation in health care systems will help channel resources to other needs, the report says. 

The American Heart Association (AHA) also advocates that adequate resources be channeled to tobacco cessation programs.

It says that while smoking cessation programs may be able to prevent new smokers from ever becoming addicted to nicotine, millions of smokers still face risks of death from tobacco-related diseases unless treatment efforts are increased.

Smoking cessation or treatment programs offer the best hope for helping these people, AHA says.          

According to the Surgeon General’s report, The Health Benefits of Smoking Cessation, combining interventions such as physician advice and use of smoking cessation products such as nicotine patches and non-nicotine pills like varenicline tartrate increases success rates of quitting.

Varenicline tartrate is a drug of Pfizer Inc. which was approved on May 11, 2006 by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a treatment for anti-smoking in adults. It has been granted regulatory approval by the Bureau of Food and Drugs for use in the Philippines.

Studies have shown the effectiveness of the varenicline therapy in smoking cessation. At the end of six clinical trials involving 3,659 chronic smokers, patients showed higher tendencies to quit smoking with only a 12-week course of varenicline therapy as compared to other treatments.

Two more independent studies had more smokers quitting with varenicline tartrate at the end of 12 weeks.

Moreover, participants in such studies and trials reported reduced withdrawal signs and symptoms.