The information in this pamphlet can help you quit:
- Cigarettes, cigars and pipes
- Smokeless tobacco, such as chewing tobacco and snuff
How smoking and using tobacco before and during cancer treatment affects your health
Before starting treatment and during it, smoking and using tobacco can:
- Delay healing
- Make your recovery time longer
- Decrease how well your treatment works
- Make your side effects worse
Your health care team is here to support you. It is never too late to quit.
Why you should quit before and during cancer treatment
How will quitting during cancer treatment help me?
Quit smoking and using tobacco during cancer treatment to:
- Help your body respond to treatment better
- Help you heal faster
- Improve some of your side effects
- Lower your risk of your cancer coming back
- Lower your risk of getting a second cancer
Can smoking and using tobacco affect my risk for cancer, even if I have cancer already?
Yes. Smoking and using tobacco when you have cancer can cause:
- Your cancer to come back (recurrence)
- Cancer to grow in other parts of your body
This can happen even if your first cancer was not caused by smoking or using tobacco.
How do smoking and using tobacco cause cancer and other diseases?
Cigarettes and tobacco products contain many harmful chemicals that can:
- Cause abnormal changes in how cells in your body grow and function
- Damage many organs
- Makes your immune system weak
There is no safe form of tobacco.
How your health care team can help you quit
Your health care team is here to support you. Your health care team will:
- Ask you about your smoking and tobacco habits
- Talk to you about how smoking and using tobacco affects your health and treatment plan
- Suggest resources or programs that may be helpful to you
- Help you become ready to quit
It is never too late to talk to your health care team about quitting.
How can I start a plan to quit?
For many people, it is not easy to quit smoking or stop using tobacco. It may take more than one try to quit. There are different ways to quit. Some people choose to quit “cold turkey” which means to quit without any type of medicine or counselling. It is the hardest way to quit smoking and stay smoke-free.
You are more likely to quit if you have help. The right option depends on your health, your habits, and other needs. People who have cancer have found it helpful to have many options to help them quit. These options work before, during and after cancer treatment.
Options include:
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In person, telephone or online counselling. Counselling may make it easier for you to quit smoking. It can help you deal with stress, understand why you smoke, and help you manage mood changes.
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Medicines. There are different types of medicines that can be used to help with cravings and the symptoms of quitting. In some cases, medicine coverage may be available to help with some or all of the cost.
For more information about the right options for you, speak to your health care team and use the resources at the end of this booklet.
How can family and friends help?
The choice to stop smoking or using tobacco products is one that must be made by each person, in their own time.
To help support your loved one to quit smoking:
- Ask how you can help
- Be aware of their needs
- Be a good listener
- Do not blame or pressure them
- Do not expose your loved ones to secondhand smoke
Resources and programs to help you quit
Here is more information to help you to quit smoking and using tobacco products.
Telehealth Ontario
Call the toll free number to help you quit smoking. Get support from a Care Coach, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Phone: 1 866 797 0000
Outpatient Pharmacies
Ask about getting help from your pharmacist to quit through the Smoking Cessation Program. Services include in person, telephone or email consults using tools, counseling and medicines (if needed) to help you quit.
Princess Margaret Cancer Centre Outpatient Pharmacy
610 University Avenue, Main Floor – Room M633
Toronto, ON M5G 2M9
Phone: 416 946 6593
Toronto General Hospital Outpatient Pharmacy
585 University Avenue, 1st Floor,
Norman Urquhart Building – Room 2
Toronto, ON M5G 2N2
Phone: 416 340 4075
Toronto Western Hospital Outpatient Pharmacy
399 Bathurst Street, Main Atrium
Toronto, ON M5T 2S8
Phone: 416 603 5686
Offers treatment and services delivered by experts to help you quit smoking and using tobacco products. Services include one-on-one consult and review of your health, group counselling, and consults on medicines to help you quit. You may also get Nicotine Replacement Therapy for free up to 6 months a year as part of the “STOP” program
175 College Street
Toronto, Ontario, M5T 1P7
Phone: 416 535 8501 extension 77400
Access a 5-minute eLearning course about how quitting smoking improves your cancer treatment.
Find online based resources and support to help you quit across Ontario. Register on the website or visit theQuit Map to find support in your community.
Visit the library to ask for more information about how to quit smoking or using tobacco.
610 University Avenue
Main Floor Lobby
Toronto, ON M5G 2M9
Phone: 416 946 4501 extension 5383
Cancer Answers provides high quality cancer information that you can trust. Search for more information about how to quit smoking or using tobacco.
