Manitoba
Smoking cessation in cancer care
Access to smoking cessation supports in cancer care settings in 2022-23
- All 22 cancer clinics in Manitoba offer people with cancer support to quit smoking, including culturally appropriate supports for First Nations, Inuit and Métis with cancer.
- People with cancer are screened for commercial tobacco use and are offered in-person or virtual clinical counselling, and free, unlimited smoking cessation medications from trained staff at the CancerCare Manitoba Quit Smoking Program. People can access ongoing counselling, educational information, and resources.
- Staff and family members of people with cancer can also join the program.
Smoking cessation in cancer care implementation level in 2022-23: GOLD
| Quality dimension | Implementation criteria met | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Behavioural counselling | Offers 3A (Ask, Advise, Act) or 5A (Ask, Advise, Assess, Assist, Arrange) model with mechanisms for relapse prevention, follow-up and extension of support to family and friends | SILVER |
| Pharmacotherapy | Offers free varenicline, bupropion and/or nicotine replacement therapy | GOLD |
| Person-centred | Engages people with cancer in program planning, gathers people’s feedback, and evaluates outcomes of people with cancer | GOLD |
| Culturally competent | Offers staff cultural competency training | BRONZE |
| Partnership | Works with multi-disciplinary team and community partners, with mechanisms for information sharing to track people’s progress | GOLD |
| Indicator measurement and reporting | Collects and reports on adoption, reach and uptake data | SILVER |
Impact of funded project (2019-23)
- Building on a previously funded evaluation project, funding and support enabled CancerCare Manitoba to conduct an economic analysis of its Quit Smoking Program, facilitate educational opportunities for healthcare providers across the province about the importance of smoking cessation after a cancer diagnosis, and engage with partners to provide advice and share findings.
- CancerCare Manitoba looked at cost savings and survival benefits for people who participated in the Quit Smoking Program compared to people who reported smoking but did not participate in the program. This was assessed by analyzing treatment outcomes and healthcare costs. The results showed that people with cancer who participated in the Quit Smoking Program had lower healthcare costs and trended toward improved overall survival than people who did not participate in the program. The survival differences were not statistically significant due to small sample sizes.
