Comments on: Why patients with cancer don’t quit smoking http://www.futurity.org/health-medicine/why-patients-with-cancer-don%e2%80%99t-quit-smoking/ Research news from leading universities Fri, 24 May 2013 02:59:37 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.4 By: Richard Posner http://www.futurity.org/health-medicine/why-patients-with-cancer-don%e2%80%99t-quit-smoking/comment-page-1/#comment-459162 Richard Posner Sat, 01 Dec 2012 21:00:59 +0000 http://www.futurity.org/?p=225752#comment-459162 You're right, Mr. Malone. Sadly, our government leaders, the men and women we have elected to make our social decisions for us, do not want to 'spend the money' on such intensive therapies. You didn't mention the context for your therapeutic practice, but such multi-focal approaches, while quite successful in all addiction therapies, are not as cheap as pushing pills and fakery, which are far more profitable and don't require the vast numbers of therapy professionals who much be paid salaries or fees. Until we, as a society, quit letting ourselves be pushed and pulled by television advertising and unremitting propaganda and jingoism, cancer patients will -need- to smoke to deal with their stress, which they've been doing for decades. They won't get access to the kind of people like you, who might actually help them. "It's too expensive". We could, as a society, certainly afford such humanistic programs...if we chose to do so. Thank you for your work and for helping people who need help. You’re right, Mr. Malone. Sadly, our government leaders, the men and women we have elected to make our social decisions for us, do not want to ‘spend the money’ on such intensive therapies. You didn’t mention the context for your therapeutic practice, but such multi-focal approaches, while quite successful in all addiction therapies, are not as cheap as pushing pills and fakery, which are far more profitable and don’t require the vast numbers of therapy professionals who much be paid salaries or fees.

Until we, as a society, quit letting ourselves be pushed and pulled by television advertising and unremitting propaganda and jingoism, cancer patients will -need- to smoke to deal with their stress, which they’ve been doing for decades. They won’t get access to the kind of people like you, who might actually help them. “It’s too expensive”. We could, as a society, certainly afford such humanistic programs…if we chose to do so.

Thank you for your work and for helping people who need help.

]]> By: James Malone http://www.futurity.org/health-medicine/why-patients-with-cancer-don%e2%80%99t-quit-smoking/comment-page-1/#comment-458692 James Malone Sat, 01 Dec 2012 15:49:15 +0000 http://www.futurity.org/?p=225752#comment-458692 As someone who has assisted other people in their stop smoking efforts, I suspect that there are a number of factors that come into play as to why cancer patients continue to smoke and these have to be considered when designing interventions. Certainly there are some who have a fatalistic attitude and figure if the damage is done, why stop now? Others may not have a sense of "ownership" when it comes to health and are not accustomed to taking a proactive role. But perhaps the largest obstacle can be the belief that managing an already sky high stress level will be impossible without smoking. Yet I do believe that if a comprehensive package of resources that included coaching, mind/body healing practices like hypnosis and nicotine replacement were made available to these folks, many of them could successfully quit. HOPE IS REALISTIC! As someone who has assisted other people in their stop smoking efforts, I suspect that there are a number of factors that come into play as to why cancer patients continue to smoke and these have to be considered when designing interventions. Certainly there are some who have a fatalistic attitude and figure if the damage is done, why stop now? Others may not have a sense of “ownership” when it comes to health and are not accustomed to taking a proactive role. But perhaps the largest obstacle can be the belief that managing an already sky high stress level will be impossible without smoking. Yet I do believe that if a comprehensive package of resources that included coaching, mind/body healing practices like hypnosis and nicotine replacement were made available to these folks, many of them could successfully quit. HOPE IS REALISTIC!

]]> By: Richard Posner http://www.futurity.org/health-medicine/why-patients-with-cancer-don%e2%80%99t-quit-smoking/comment-page-1/#comment-457422 Richard Posner Sat, 01 Dec 2012 00:36:55 +0000 http://www.futurity.org/?p=225752#comment-457422 In the state of Oregon all health care facilities now ban smoking on the entire campus. You can't smoke in the parking lot, technically, and with cameras everywhere these days, I would imagine to-obvious puffing would get you a visit from security. As for smoking in general, it's an addiction. Since the USA penalizes and criminalizes negative behaviors instead of treating them appropriately, this is just another Prohibition. You'd think we'd learn something, but we don't. In the state of Oregon all health care facilities now ban smoking on the entire campus. You can’t smoke in the parking lot, technically, and with cameras everywhere these days, I would imagine to-obvious puffing would get you a visit from security.

As for smoking in general, it’s an addiction. Since the USA penalizes and criminalizes negative behaviors instead of treating them appropriately, this is just another Prohibition. You’d think we’d learn something, but we don’t.

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