Anti-smoking group focuses on digestive cancers related to cigarettes for tobacco-free week

MONTREAL -- Beyond the lungs and heart, tobacco can also affect the digestive system, Quebec Council on Tobacco and Health (CQTS) says. 

The council took aim at these unknown impacts of cigarettes in its 44th week for a tobacco-free Quebec.

Over time, the CQTS has often tried to educate Quebecers about the harmful effects of tobacco on the lungs and cardiovascular system.

But this year, the council wanted to focus on the impacts of smoking on digestive cancers - liver, colorectal, pancreas, stomach and esophagus.

At a news conference on Sunday morning, gastroenterologist Nicolas Benoit stressed that these cancers are particularly problematic because they are often diagnosed too late.

"The consequences of digestive damage can be major," he explained. "Unfortunately, sometimes, when diagnosed, the cancer is already advanced."

For example, in the case of pancreatic cancer, in more than eight out of 10 cases, the patient cannot be operated on because the cancer is already too advanced.

For this specific cancer, 20 to 25 per cent of diagnoses are linked to tobacco.

In the case of esophageal cancer, one in two cases is linked to smoking, according to Benoit.

The gastroenterologist insisted that it is never too lat to quit smoking, since over time the risk of developing cancer will decrease.

"There are even studies that show us that after five to 10 years, our risk can return to a risk like the general population," he said.

The spokesperson for the week, actor Patrice Godin, urged smokers to take advantage of the pandemic to quit, even if the context is difficult.

"There is not a good moment, it is the present moment," he said.

Godin smoked for more than 25 years of his life and quit smoking almost 13 years ago, and it was by finding a passion for running that he succeeded in achieving his goal.

"If you find yourself passionate about replacing the habit of smoking, it can help a lot," he added.

CQTS executive director Annie Papageorgiou said the pandemic seemed to have some impact on smokers and those who have quit smoking.

"Some smokers have returned to smoking and others have taken the opportunity to quit," she said. "But still, it is the smokers are heavy smokers where we noticed the biggest difference is that the number of cigarettes smoked is greater."

In 2019 in Quebec, 17 per cent of the population aged 12 and over smoked, or one in six, according to the CQTS.

-- this report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 17, 2021.