Prof. Polosa’s intervention on a COPD patient with smoking addiction during a conference in Rome
Rome, 17 April 2023 – Health is our most precious asset and we all have the task of protecting it in the best possible way, becoming aware of the negative impact that incorrect choices, habits and lifestyles have on it. The identification of risk factors and targeted intervention for their elimination should be the first priority in a social-health context of best practices for safeguarding the health of all citizens. It is therefore advisable to pay adequate attention both to the clinical-diagnostic aspects and to those connected with scientific research, sociological studies, environmental sciences, the sustainable management of natural resources and the appropriate use of structural and technological resources.
On these issues, a debate developed between institutional representatives and industry experts during the conference entitled “Global clinical risk: causes and intervention strategies”, held last weekend in Rome, organized by DreamCom at the Hotel Sina Bernini Bristol. The aim of the meeting was to focus attention on the importance of prevention and early treatment, of the removal or at least reduction of health risks through the transmission of appropriate recommendations and treatments, which meet clinical evidence criteria and, at the same time, environmental and social sustainability.
One of the speakers of the event, moderated by Prof. Carla Bruschelli, was Prof. Riccardo Polosa, founder of CoEHAR, Center of Excellence for the acceleration of Harm Reduction, and professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Catania. The subject of his speech was the patient with COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) with addiction to smoking, which he defined as “a difficult patient, because he has a long history that has created a strong alliance with cigarettes. Therefore, giving up smoking leads him to a great form of distress, because it represents a loss”.
For this reason, the standard approach to reducing smoking, based on pharmacological therapy, is ineffective: “Brupopion – added Prof. Polosa – has a significant effect at 6 months in terms of CAR (Continuous Abstinence Rate), which disappears after years. Even with the most effective drug therapies, 80% of patients continue to smoke after one year”.
Prof. Polosa pointed out that “we also need to study the benefits of new technologies that deliver nicotine, such as electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products. The history of these technologies is in fact very successful, because they have a strong impact in terms of reducing smoking. Combustion-free alternatives can greatly help patients with COPD from smoking cigarettes, as demonstrated by the results of two clinical studies showing that these subjects can abstain from smoking if given a valid alternative. That is, electronic cigarette and heated tobacco products, tools that mimic the experience of smoking, while ensuring significant improvements in the general state of health”.
Rif. (Aska news)
