Need for rehab program for smoker-doctors cited

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Society of Medical Oncology (PSMO) has underscored the need to come up with a rehabilitation program for a number of smoker-doctors to enable them to quit the habit.

Dr. Dennis Ramon Tudtud, PSMO president, said it may not be easy for some smokers to drop the habit because “smoking is an addiction.”

Tudtud said nicotine in the cigarettes stimulate a part of the brain that sends signal to crave for nicotine.

“The smoke in the cigarette sanitizes the tongue to a certain amount of nicotine… so for smokers, it would be very difficult for them to stop because they have to fill the nicotine level of addiction,” he said in a press briefing highlighting the Global Lung Cancer Awareness Month this November.

He said the PSMO will study the possibility of coming up with a rehabilitation program to assist doctors who want to quit smoking but could not do so easily.

In some cases, a smoker who tries to stop smoking experiences withdrawal symptoms like sweating, cramps, nausea, tingling sensation in the hands and feet, and headache.

Dr. Mary Claire Vega-Soliman, head of the Breast Section of the St. Luke’s Medical Center’s Department of Medical Oncology, said lung cancer is the “deadliest” type of cancer but it is not given much attention because of the stigma associated with smoking.

“People have very negative view of cancer… They are less sympathetic with lung cancer patients due to the stigma caused by tobacco when, in fact, not all lung cancer cases are attributable to cigarettes,” she said.

Vega-Soliman said that if one is already predisposed to lung cancer because of other factors like family history, exposure to radiation, environment, indoor air pollution and occupational risk, smoking tends to increase his chance of developing the disease.