Oncologists play a vital role in tobacco cessation by providing education and resources to patients to help them quit. During the last year, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) worked to more clearly define the its role in tobacco control, and refine its agenda by focusing on initiatives that play to its strengths in advocacy and providing practical and reliable information to the oncology community—both caregivers and patients—to enable patients to quit smoking. An important component of this effort is to significantly improve the availability, awareness, and accessibility of tobacco cessation information to the membership. In addition, ASCO is working toward other long-term initiatives that will strengthen the Society’s tobacco control advocacy and promote better funding for research on tobacco-related cancer prevention and control. Given the significant impact of smoking on cancer incidence and death, as well as the growing body of research on smoking’s effect on treatment outcomes, it is incumbent on the cancer care community to incorporate effective tobacco cessation as an integral component of quality cancer care. In order to encourage and improve the integration of tobacco cessation in oncology practices, it is vital that ASCO provide the tools and resources for cancer care providers to be able to effectively offer these services. In addition, ASCO must advocate for improved coverage by public and private payers for tobacco cessation counseling as well as approved pharmacotherapies.

For more information:
http://jop.ascopubs.org/content/5/1/2.full