On the eve of World No Tobacco Day which falls on May 31, the M.V. Hospital for Diabetes, Royapuram released a study on tobacco cessation.
As per a press release, a total of 103 patients addicted to tobacco were given intensive counselling with a one-on-one session to reduce /quit tobacco. Each session last at leasted 40-60 minutes. The CAGE addiction scale was used to assess the addiction severity. Follow up consisted of telephone calls every month.
Counsellors highlighted the message by adapting it into the patient’s clinical condition, smoking history and personal interests, providing a list of different reasons to stop smoking, focusing on advantages of quitting rather than the risks of continued smoking, and tried to send a positive message by stressing the benefits of quitting for a diabetic.
Quit date
A quit date was negotiated with those patients who were willing to stop smoking. Techniques and therapies like cognitive behaviour therapy, motivational interviewing and problem-solving were taught, as well as relaxation techniques to cut down and manage the craving cessation.
The mean age of the study population was 50.61 years and the mean smoking duration was 13.31 years.
Vijay Viswanathan, head and chief diabetologist at the hospital, said intense psychological counselling increases the rate of tobacco quitting. He also emphasised the importance of tobacco cessation clinics.
Former tobacco users pointed out that the support from family and peer group is very important during their quit attempts, according to the release.
