As a healthcare worker of many years and with a wide variety of specialities under my belt the issue of smoking and its associated risk factors seem to have been an every day occurrence for me.

But that still doesn't dull my feelings of utter amazement regarding sensible, rational, people who, even when faced with almost insurmountable health problems associated with smoking, are still reluctance to give up cigarettes.

Time after time urology patients with bladder cancer are asked "have you given up?" and time and again the answer would be "no."

It had been explained very clearly that their problem had been caused by the smoking but still they persisted. It is the same with respiratory patients struggling for breath, often on permanent oxygen. But they would still manage to walk outside to smoke.

I understand that people must be allow to make their own choices and as long as those choices are informed that is all we can do. But I wonder, would anything make them change that decision when a life threatening illness doesn't?

The burden on an already overstretched health service is increasing daily and smoking related illnesses cause a large part of this due to the long-term nature of the diseases produced as a consequence. Heart attacks, strokes and chronic obstructive airways disease, to name a few - they require continuing care both in hospital and within the community, sometimes taking vital resources from other equally, and in some cases, more deserving patients.

Health education is needed to stop people from smoking in the first place and the place to start is our schools. We need to start very early on and continue to repeat the message as often as possible and as often as it is needed until the number of smoking related illnesses decreases substantially.

Do you want to quit smoking? Visit Smokefree England for further information.

Source: www.isnare.com