• 12/13/2004
  • Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  • Staff editor
  • Canada Newswire (newswire.ca)

Physicians, dentists and pharmacists team up to help Ontarians stop smoking.

Today, three of Ontario’s professional healthcare associations are promoting increased public awareness of the efforts of a growing number of physicians, dentists and pharmacists throughout Ontario who are helping their patients quit smoking through the Clinical Tobacco Intervention (CTI) Program. CTI is funded, in part, by the Government of Ontario.

The Ontario Dental Association (ODA), The Ontario Medical Association (OMA) and the Ontario Pharmacists’ Association (OPA) have been working together to train dentists, physicians and pharmacists in stop smoking interventions and want the public to know they can look to their family doctor, dentist or pharmacist for help.

“Dentists are oral health care specialists and routinely see health problems in patients that are directly linked to tobacco use,” said Dr. Steve Goren, President of the Ontario Dental Association. “We see first hand the association between tobacco use and a range of oral diseases, from gum disease to oral cancer. That’s why Ontario dentists are motivated to provide patients with tobacco cessation advice and assistance.”

Research shows that advice from a healthcare provider can significantly increase the chance of successfully quitting smoking. Success rates increase further when combined with stop-smoking medications and/or intensive
counselling.

“Pharmacists are aware of how difficult it is for some people to quit
smoking,” said OPA Chair Jane Farnham. “Our message to people is that you can quit and we can help by providing information and advice on the proper use of a variety of over the counter and prescription medications.”

Studies show that the benefits of quitting smoking are immediate and substantial:

-Circulation improves, carbon monoxide level in the blood begins to decline and pulse and blood pressure begin to return to normal.

-Within a few days of quitting breathing becomes easier and the sense of taste and smell return.

-After one year of remaining smoke-free, an individual will be half as likely to get heart disease.

-Ten to 15 years after quitting the risk of heart attack is about the same as someone who has never smoked.

“Talking to your doctor is one of the best ways to get you on your way to becoming smoke-free,” said Dr. Ted Boadway, Executive Director of Health Policy at the OMA. “Your doctor can help you understand your addiction and help develop a plan to quit.”

Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of premature death, disease and disability in Ontario. There are almost 1.9 million smokers in Ontario and each year 16,000 patients die prematurely because of smoking. One in every four deaths from heart attacks and strokes in Canada is caused by smoking, and tobacco use causes about 30% of all cancers in Canada, and more than 85% of lung cancers.