More than 50% of patients with COPD are smokers.

– abandonment of the consumption of tobacco has been proven as the most effective intervention to halt the deterioration of COPD

-is essential to include the treatment of tobacco use as an irreplaceable part in comprehensive treatment of COPD programs

-smokers with COPD have specific characteristics of your smoking that makes a group of smokers with special difficulties to abandon this dependency

– Between 85% and 90% of COPD cases are caused by tobacco and it is estimated that you between 15% and 20% of smokers will develop this disease

-La COPD is the fourth leading cause of death in the world and a first-rate public health problem

– 1,5 million Spaniards suffer from COPD

Spain. January of 2013- in spite of that the abandonment of the consumption of tobacco has been proven as the most effective intervention to halt the deterioration of COPD, epidemiological study of COPD in Spain (IBEREPOC) of SEPAR (Spanish society of Pneumology and thoracic surgery), and another developed in Great Britainconfirmed that more than 50% of patients suffering from this disease are still smoking. Smokers with COPD edited by SEPAR regulations tobacco treatment is the first scientific paper which, in Europe, deals extensively with strategies to follow to help patients with COPD to smoking cessation, the measure with greater cost effectiveness against this disease.

The annual report of the Respiratory Team London, published in January 2012, concluded that in patients with COPD, the cost per year of life gained conformed to the quality that has the treatment with bronchodilators exceeds 10,000 pounds (GBP), around 12,300 euros; While the cost of treatments for quitting smoking was only 2,000 GBP, about 2,460 euros. Dr. Carlos Jiménez, Coordinator of the new regulations and program director of research integrated smoking in SEPAR, considers that if take into account that the only treatment that has been proven actually efficient to stop COPD is to quit; While other treatments are only symptomatic, we consider necessary to facilitate the treatment of tobacco addiction in smokers with COPD ”.

While treatments with bronchodilators are funded by the national health system in patients with COPD, anti smoking treatments are not for this group of patients. Says Dr. Carlos Jiménez that this is a reality of difficult understanding and more at the current time of economic crisis. The pulmonologists are committed to financing of treatments that we have scientifically demonstrated that they maintain an optimal relationship costeeficacia and this is the case of the anti smoking treatments for patients suffering from COPD ”.

Various studies show that smokers with COPD have specific characteristics of your smoking that makes a group of smokers with special difficulties to abandon this dependency. Among these characteristics described consumption of a greater number of daily cigarettes than smokers without COPD; and Moreover, consume them with a specific pattern: they deeply inhale the cigarette smoke and they retain it longer to the inside of your lungs, in addition, levels of carbon monoxide (CO) in exhaled air of these smokers are higher in smokers without COPD. They also suffer a higher degree of physical dependence on nicotine and a degree of motivation to quit smoking lower. The depression is also common in this group of smokers, in up to 40% of patients. Moreover, a recent study has shown that up to 20% of patients with COPD who are admitted to the Spanish hospitals consume tobacco.

One of the contributions of greater scientific impact that proposed this legislation of SEPAR is to establish that the therapeutic approach of smoking must be different in recent diagnosis COPD smokers and smokers suffering from a previously diagnosed COPD. The recent diagnosis are smokers who did not know they had the disease and those who must explain everything related to COPD and smoking. Those who were already diagnosed are smokers continue to smoke despite knowing that suffer from COPD and smoking is the main cause. Between 85% and 90% of COPD cases are caused by tobacco and it is estimated that you between 15% and 20% of smokers will develop this disease.

Smokers with COPD should receive, in addition to psychological support, pharmacotherapy for smoking cessation ”, believes Dr. Juan Antonio Riesco, Vice-President of SEPAR, pharmacological treatment to quit smoking in patients with COPD is fundamental to curb this disease, and as we have shown, is in addition to more effectivemost economic ”. Smoking in these smokers treatment consists of the combination of therapy cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and pharmacological treatment. Use of TSN (nicotine replacement therapy), bupropion and varenicline in these patients is a consistent quality of evidence high recommendation.