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New Guidance Says Doctors Should Discuss Vaping as One Option to Help Adults Quit Smoking

Quitting smoking is one of the best things a person can do for their health—but it's also one of the hardest habits to break. Many smokers make several attempts before they successfully quit, even when using medications or nicotine replacement products. Now, a panel of tobacco treatment experts is encouraging healthcare providers to expand the conversation about smoking cessation by discussing nicotine e-cigarettes as one possible option for adults who smoke cigarettes. The recommendations, published in JAMA , were developed by the Harm Reduction Work Group of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco’s Treatment Research Network. Rather than promoting vaping, the group says clinicians should focus on helping patients choose the quit-smoking method that best fits their individual circumstances. A Personalized Approach to Quitting Smoking cessation isn't the same for everyone. What works well for one person may not work for another, which is why the authors recommend mo...
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Data Shows Sale of Targeted Cancer Drugs Totaled $17.3 billion in 2007


Cancer drugs are selling like hotcakes. According to recent data, sales will continue to increase. The drugs are highly effective, but the cost makes them unacceptable to healthcare systems. Cancer drugs that have been bringing huge profits to pharmaceutical companies may limit patient treatment options.

According to a new Datamonitor report, eight cancer drugs are predicted to become “blockbuster” sellers in the next few years, with sales reaching $42 billion or more by the year 2017. The sale of targeted cancer drugs totaled $17.3 billion in 2007, compared to $10.2 million for conventional chemotherapy.”

The UK’s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has recommended against using several cancer drugs because they’re not cost effective. Other healthcare systems are likely to follow. The huge profits to pharmaceutical companies will end, but more importantly, cancer patients may suffer. Four popular agents have been shunned by NICE, used for the treatment of kidney cancer - followed by protest from cancer specialists. The result is that cancer patients have to pay full price for effective therapies.

Andrew Dillon, chief executive of NICE claimed "We have made it possible for thousands of cancer patients to receive treatment when, without our guidance, they would almost certainly have not.” In the past, the group approved 56 other cancer drugs. They feel that recommending expensive drugs would mean that other patients might “lose out on treatments that are both clinically and cost effective.”

Datamonitor's oncology analyst, Tom Gray, PhD says, "If other healthcare systems follow the UK's example, which looks like an increasing possibility, this could significantly dampen the growth of the market, and will ultimately impact the effectiveness of treatment available to patients."

We can hope that some happy medium is reached.

Links:
More Targeted Cancer Therapies Set to Become "Blockbusters"
UK Cancer Experts Deplore NICE Decision on Kidney Cancer Drugs
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