Saturday, May 06, 2006

Science Saturday IV: 'A Teachable Moment'

A stop-smoking program for New York City firefighters in the months after the 9/11 attacks has proven to be surprisingly successful.

The stress of work at ground zero at the destroyed World Trade Center caused many smokers to smoke more and prompted others who had quit to start again.

"Tobacco calms your nerves, increases awareness, allows you to stay up," Dr. David J. Prezant, the FDNY's chief medical officer, told the New York Times. "These are all things that people want in the middle of a disaster. It's not their fault that they start smoking more."

At the same time, the disaster provided what Dr. Prezant called "a reachable, teachable moment," when the message about the dangers of smoking could come through.

Ninety-eight percent of FDNY's rescue workers, whether they used tobacco or not, reported respiratory problems during their exposure to dust and debris at the disaster site. Of almost 12,000 workers screened (including firefighters, health care workers and officers), 15 percent said they regularly smoked tobacco. Of the 1,767 smokers, 29 percent said they increased their daily tobacco use after the disaster, and 23 percent said they were ex-smokers who started again after it.

The program was free and voluntary, and 164 rescue workers enrolled — 9 percent of those who said they smoked. Fifty-six family members also participated. At the end of 12 months, 33 percent of the participants were abstinent, compared with the usual 20 to 27 percent abstinence rates for other programs cited in the study. The results were confirmed with biochemical assays and the testimony of family members. Smoking can be confirmed by testing carbon monoxide in exhaled breath.

The Times has more here.

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