© 2002 by the American Diabetes Association, Inc.
Smoking and DiabetesAmerican Diabetes Association
As documented in the American Diabetes Associations technical review "Smoking and Diabetes" (1), a large body of evidence from epidemiological, case-control, and cohort studies provides convincing documentation of the causal link between cigarette smoking and health risks. Cigarette smoking is the leading avoidable cause of mortality in the U.S., accounting for 434,000 deaths each year. Cigarette smoking accounts for one out of every five deaths in the U.S. and is the most important modifiable cause of premature death. Cigarettes provide the delivery system for nicotine, an addictive substance related to various pharmacological, biochemical, and psychological processes that interact to support a compulsive pattern of drug use. Much of the prior work documenting the impact of smoking on health did not discuss separately results on subsets of individuals with diabetes, suggesting the identified risks are at least equivalent to those found in the general population. Other studies of individuals with diabetes consistently found a heightened risk of morbidity and premature death associated with the development of macrovascular complications among smokers. The cardiovascular burden of diabetes, especially in combination with smoking, has not been effectively communicated to both people with diabetes and health care providers. Smoking is also related to the premature development of microvascular complications of diabetes and may have a role in the development of type 2 diabetes (1). General smoking prevalence has decreased over the past 10 years because of extensive public health efforts, which include making the population aware of the health hazards of active and passive smoking, implementation of smoking cessation interventions, and policy changes. However, 2628% of American adults continue to smoke, with variations reported by ethnic and sociodemographic groups. These figures mirror the prevalence of tobacco use among individuals with diabetes. It appears adolescents may initiate smoking after being diagnosed with diabetes and that the prevalence of tobacco use decreases with disease duration (1,2,3).
Effectiveness of smoking cessation counseling Several treatment characteristics have been identified as critical to achieve cessation. These characteristics include counseling by multiple health care providers, use of individual or group counseling strategies, use of interventions including problem-solving or skills training components with social support, and use of pharmacotherapy such as nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) (1). Smoking cessation pharmacotherapy appears to limit withdrawal symptoms and increase abstinence and is an efficacious strategy for provoking abstinence when used as an adjunct to cessation counseling. Therefore, the extensive benefits of quitting versus the heightened risks of continuing to smoke should guide the decision regarding use of nicotine replacement therapy and other pharmacological aides for cessation among individuals with diabetes. The benefits greatly outweigh any risks of NRT except in special circumstances such as pregnancy, where providers need to make individual decisions. Although many large-scale well-controlled outcome studies have included patients with diabetes, seldom have results been reported separately for diabetes versus other participants. Special issues that affect successful abstinence have been identified in these studies and include weight management and depression. Postcessation weight gain may be an impediment to smoking cessation, especially among women or other people concerned with weight management (4). The presence of comorbid psychiatric conditions such as depression is associated with prevalence of smoking and heightened relapse after quitting. Though not reported separately, these issues are expected to be at least equally relevant for diabetic patients as for general patients (1).
Smoking cessation delivery systems
The rationale for the prevention and cessation of smoking among individuals with diabetes is substantial. The purpose of this position statement is to provide guidelines for inclusion of the prevention and cessation of tobacco use as an important component of state-of-the-art clinical diabetes care. These guidelines are based on the body of evidence summarized in the American Diabetes Associations technical review on smoking and diabetes (1). The guidelines are appropriate for use by health care providers engaged in the care and management of individuals with diabetes. The guidelines are summarized in Table 1 and address the following three primary areas.
Assessment of smoking status and history The routine and thorough assessment of tobacco use is important as a means of preventing smoking or encouraging cessation. Special considerations should include assessment of level of nicotine dependence, which is associated with difficulty in quitting and relapse. Other issues particularly relevant to diabetic smokers include screening for depression or negative affect (1,3,4).
Counseling on smoking prevention and cessation Pharmacological supplements are effective elements to include for smoking cessation in conjunction with behavioral interventions. The evidence is clear that use of NRT combined with behavioral counseling is more effective and much more beneficial than simply prescribing NRT alone. The risks of continued smoking compared with the use of pharmacological supplements needs to be considered in the presence of special circumstances, such as pregnancy or other diabetic complications. Health care providers should also be cognizant of special issues that may affect successful cessation, such as weight management. Health care providers should emphasize smoking cessation as a priority of state-of-the-art care for all diabetic smokers.
Effective systems for delivery of smoking cessation
The recommendations in this paper are based on the evidence reviewed in the following publication: Smoking and diabetes (Technical Review). Diabetes Care 22:18871898, 1999. The initial draft of this paper was prepared by Debra Haire-Joshu, PhD, Russell E. Glasgow, PhD, and Tiffany L. Tibbs, MA. The paper was peer-reviewed, modified, and approved by the Professional Practice Committee and the Executive Committee, October 1999. Abbreviations: NRT, nicotine replacement therapy.
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