| Abstract: | Objective: To assess smoking habits and nicotine dependence (ND) in patients with head andneck cancer Methods: This study involved 71 smokers or former smokers with squamous cell carcinoma inthe oral cavity, pharynx, or larynx who were treated at a university hospital inthe city of São Paulo between January and May of 2010. We used the Fagerström Testfor Nicotine Dependence to evaluate smoking habits and ND in the sample. Dataregarding cancer treatment were collected from medical records. Depending on thevariables studied, we used the chi-square test, Fisher''s exact test, Student''st-test, or Spearman''s correlation test. Results: Of the 71 patients, 47 (66.2%) presented with high or very high ND, 40 (56.3%)smoked more than 20 cigarettes/day, and 32 (45.1%) smoked their first cigarettewithin 5 min of awakening. Advanced disease stage correlated significantly withthe number of cigarettes smoked per day (p = 0.011) and with smoking history (p =0.047). We found that ND did not correlate significantly with gender, diseasestage, smoking cessation, or number of smoking cessation attempts, nor did thenumber of cigarettes smoked per day correlate with smoking cessation or gender.Treatment for smoking cessation was not routinely offered. Conclusions: In most of the patients studied, the level of ND was high or very high. Theprevalence of heavy smoking for long periods was high in our sample. A diagnosisof cancer is a motivating factor for smoking cessation. However, intensive smokingcessation treatment is not routinely offered to smoking patients diagnosed withcancer. |
