Tobacco Treatment Program Effective in Oncology Settings

FRIDAY, July 17, 2026 (HealthDay News) — A sustained virtual tobacco treatment program nearly doubles the rate of quitting versus usual care within community oncology care settings, according to a study published online July 13 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Elyse R. Park, Ph.D., from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and colleagues evaluated a virtual sustained tobacco treatment intervention across community oncology settings. The analysis included 306 patients recently diagnosed with cancer who were randomly assigned to either sustained telehealth counseling plus medication (virtual sustained treatment [VST]) or to referral to the National Cancer Institute quit line (enhanced usual care [EUC]).

The researchers found that six-month, seven-day point abstinence rates were 28.4 percent (42 of 148) in the VST group versus 14.7 percent (21 of 143) in the EUC group. There were no significant treatment moderators observed. In the VST group, 80.8 percent (126 of 156) engaged in counseling, while 85.7 percent (108 of 126) were dispensed nicotine replacement therapy. Participants who completed more than eight sessions were more likely to quit versus those completing fewer than five sessions. At six months, continuous abstinence and significant reduction rates were higher in the VST group. Per quit, the incremental cost was $7,724.

“Our findings show that patients are willing to engage in virtual sustained tobacco treatment and that this approach can meaningfully improve quit rates in community-based oncology practice,” lead author Jamie S. Ostroff, Ph.D., from the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, said in a statement. “Virtual sustained counseling combined with nicotine replacement therapy offers a practical, cost-effective, and scalable model of tobacco treatment delivery that can reach patients wherever they receive care.”

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