CNN reports on the death of the captain of the ship featured in the TV show “The Deadliest Catch” from complications of a stroke. His son attributes his death to his bad habits, including smoking. What caught my attention was the last statement by his son in this CNN quote:
“He did cut back on energy drinks, quite a bit from what he’d usually do,” Josh said, “but [doctors] have determined that smoking was the cause of this, and that was always his biggest habit. He had changed a lot of his habits but just could never kick the smoking. He started working with that electronic cigarette but, not used to it, he didn’t know how to charge it. He just kept smoking.”
This is a great point. Treatment fit should be ubiquitous, because every treatment has an element of burder, however small. Although the fit and burden of a treatment is especially important in the case of chronic disease, given the immense commitment of the patient, these always things should be considered for acute treatment when multiple options with varying impacts on patients’ lives are available.
When discussing smoking and trying to fit a treatment, medical professionals do need to consider or find out whether the patient feels that any “treatment” fits for smoking. Many people simply do not want to quit, even in the face of serious medical complications, for various reasons: self-medication, the “burden” of the quitting treatment, comfort, enjoyment, etc… I have heard quite a few. Sometimes, smokers who are advised on quitting do not even attempt the prescribed treatment, because they feel that it would not work for them and they have not felt comfortable addressing their concerns about quitting smoking with the doctor.