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Local community health care advocates want the province to pay for nicotine patches and other replacement therapies to help low-income patients quit smoking.
Dr. Robyn Mossman and nurse practitioner Chris Bradley of the Pinecrest-Queensway Community Health Centre have launched a letter-writing campaign to have nicotine replacement therapies added to the Ontario Drug Benefit program.
The program covers the cost of drugs when doctors prescribe them for patients receiving retirement, disability or unemployment benefits.
“We know that smoking cessation is the No. 1 health intervention we can make to improve someone’s health,” said Dr. Mossman. “So I feel really frustrated when my hands are tied and I can’t provide what’s considered by Health Canada to be a first-line treatment for patients for smoking cessation.
“This is something that could make a huge difference for our patients.”
Studies show that nicotine replacement therapies can improve a smoker’s chances of quitting by 50 to 60 per cent, she said.
Both Quebec and British Columbia provide nicotine patches and other replacement therapies through their provincial drug benefit programs.
In Ontario, however, the drug benefit program only covers Zyban and Champix, drugs that curb nicotine cravings but do not deliver nicotine.
Patients who want to use nicotine replacement therapies — nicotine patches, gum or inhalers — must pay for the products themselves or else apply for a subsidy. A number of subsidy programs are available, but they can be difficult for patients to navigate and time consuming for medical staff to administer, Bradley said.
The situation defies common sense, he added, since Health Canada recommends that nicotine replacement be used as the first-line treatment for patients who want to quit smoking. Champix or Zyban can be considered when nicotine replacement therapy has failed, the federal health agency says.
Research shows that anyone who quits smoking can dramatically reduce their risk of heart disease, lung cancer and other diseases.
Smoking remains the leading cause of death in Canada. Each year, tobacco-related disease claims about 13,000 lives in Ontario while costing the province’s health care system an estimated $2.2 billion.
Smoking is a habit that bears a strong relationship to income: the more money people make, the less chance they’ll smoke. Statistics Canada reports that almost one in four Canadians from households in the lowest income quintile smoke on a regular basis, while only one in 10 were smokers among households in the highest income bracket.
Bradley called smoking cessation a social justice issue. Oftentimes, he said, people are using cigarettes as a coping mechanism to deal with depression or the stress imposed by poverty.
“It’s just a fact that people with low incomes smoke more,” he said, “and smoking contributes to maintaining their poverty. It’s a bit of a vicious cycle.”
Mossman said she has patients who desperately need to quit smoking.
“They’re starting to see all kinds of bad things happen to them health-wise,” she said, “and they’d be excellent candidates for nicotine replacement therapy, but it’s not covered and they can’t afford it.”
In April, the Ontario Medical Association passed a motion supporting a proposal to add nicotine replacement therapies to the drug benefit program. The Nurse Practitioners’ Association of Ontario has passed a similar motion.
查看原文...
Dr. Robyn Mossman and nurse practitioner Chris Bradley of the Pinecrest-Queensway Community Health Centre have launched a letter-writing campaign to have nicotine replacement therapies added to the Ontario Drug Benefit program.
The program covers the cost of drugs when doctors prescribe them for patients receiving retirement, disability or unemployment benefits.
“We know that smoking cessation is the No. 1 health intervention we can make to improve someone’s health,” said Dr. Mossman. “So I feel really frustrated when my hands are tied and I can’t provide what’s considered by Health Canada to be a first-line treatment for patients for smoking cessation.
“This is something that could make a huge difference for our patients.”
Studies show that nicotine replacement therapies can improve a smoker’s chances of quitting by 50 to 60 per cent, she said.
Both Quebec and British Columbia provide nicotine patches and other replacement therapies through their provincial drug benefit programs.
In Ontario, however, the drug benefit program only covers Zyban and Champix, drugs that curb nicotine cravings but do not deliver nicotine.
Patients who want to use nicotine replacement therapies — nicotine patches, gum or inhalers — must pay for the products themselves or else apply for a subsidy. A number of subsidy programs are available, but they can be difficult for patients to navigate and time consuming for medical staff to administer, Bradley said.
The situation defies common sense, he added, since Health Canada recommends that nicotine replacement be used as the first-line treatment for patients who want to quit smoking. Champix or Zyban can be considered when nicotine replacement therapy has failed, the federal health agency says.
Research shows that anyone who quits smoking can dramatically reduce their risk of heart disease, lung cancer and other diseases.
Smoking remains the leading cause of death in Canada. Each year, tobacco-related disease claims about 13,000 lives in Ontario while costing the province’s health care system an estimated $2.2 billion.
Smoking is a habit that bears a strong relationship to income: the more money people make, the less chance they’ll smoke. Statistics Canada reports that almost one in four Canadians from households in the lowest income quintile smoke on a regular basis, while only one in 10 were smokers among households in the highest income bracket.
Bradley called smoking cessation a social justice issue. Oftentimes, he said, people are using cigarettes as a coping mechanism to deal with depression or the stress imposed by poverty.
“It’s just a fact that people with low incomes smoke more,” he said, “and smoking contributes to maintaining their poverty. It’s a bit of a vicious cycle.”
Mossman said she has patients who desperately need to quit smoking.
“They’re starting to see all kinds of bad things happen to them health-wise,” she said, “and they’d be excellent candidates for nicotine replacement therapy, but it’s not covered and they can’t afford it.”
In April, the Ontario Medical Association passed a motion supporting a proposal to add nicotine replacement therapies to the drug benefit program. The Nurse Practitioners’ Association of Ontario has passed a similar motion.
查看原文...
