Smoking cessation in the elderly and senile age
Tobacco smoking remains the main modifiable cause of premature mortality worldwide, which is associated with 12% of fatal outcomes among adults aged 30 years and older. The review is devoted to the problem of smoking cessation in elderly and senile patients. Less dependence on nicotine, but at the same time, less willingness to give up smoking are noted as patterns of elderly smokers. Also, there are gender differences in smoking cessation: men are less likely to quit or reduce smoking, to use medications or any services to help stop smoking and to talk to doctors about smoking. Special attention is paid to the problems that elderly people face when trying to quit smoking. In particular, it was noted that the potential opportunities for successful smoking cessation in elderly people are being missed due to the fact that doctors are less likely to offer them interventions or give them specific advice on quitting smoking. At the same time, large-scale prospective cohort studies have shown that the life expectancy of people who gave up tobacco smoking over the age of 65 was longer. The impact of smoking during the COVID-19 course is considered separately, and the expediency of initiating elderly smokers to quit smoking in the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic is substantiated. KEYWORDS: tobacco smoking, mortality, life expectancy, senile age, treatment. FOR CITATION: Titova O.N., Sukhovskaya O.A., Kulikov V.D. Smoking cessation in the elderly and senile age. Russian Medical Inquiry. 2021;5(7):503–507 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.32364/2587-6821-2021-5-7-503-507.