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Things coming from Ottawa are not always bad. Take, for example, the Ottawa Program for
Smoking Cessation: it really works.
Hello everyone, my name is Gaston Ostiguy,and I am a Chest Physician at the McGill University Health Centre.
Smoking is a major health concern, and something that by now you should know is bad for you.
But we know that quitting smoking is far being from easy. People tend to confuse simple
willingness to quit with actual success. But the fact is that quitting smoking requires
a program and a good follow-up. Nicotine creates dependence and addiction.
But if you are serious about quitting smoking, the MUHC is on your side.
It is well documented that a period of hospitalization is the best time to quit smoking, especially
if a patient's stay in hospital is due to a cardio-vascular disease or respiratory problem.
So we are implementing a program to help patients quit smoking,
which we have implemented in the cardiology and respiratory divisions.
During hospital stay, the patient will be offered councelling along with medication
like nicotine replacement therapies or pills. Whens started in the hospital, this approach
has been very successful increasing the rate of success by as much as 60 percent.
While in hospital, you are not allowed to smoke anyway. But remember that stopping smoking
is not just prevention, but it's part of your treatment.
But to succeed in the long term, the patient needs good follow-up support after discharge,
because up to 50% of relapses occur during the first two weeks after a quit attempt.
With our program, a nurse will visit the patient, assess his or her smoking habits, and offer
you counselling and medication. Following discharge, the patient will
receive automatic phone calls to evaluate his or her progress and will be invited to
communicate with an expert counsellor to discuss any problems or difficulties.
And this follow-up is offered for six months after discharge.
Thank you for watching, and if you are a patient of the MUHC in the cardiology or respiratory
divisions, why not take advantage of this wonderful program?