Kicking tobacco habit amongst HIV patients

Washington, June 4 (ANI): Researchers have now decided to focus their attention on finding ways to kick the smoking habit amongst people suffering from HIV/AIDS.

A research by Saint Louis University School of Public Health found that of the 1.1 million Americans living with HIV/AIDS, between 40 and 60 percent are smokers - which is two to three times the rate of smokers in the general population.

Jenine K. Harris, Ph.D., study author and associate professor of community health at Saint Louis University School of Public Health saw that only 2 per cent of 272 published articles examined the effectiveness of interventions aimed at preventing or reducing smoking among those living with HIV/AIDS.

"The accumulation of nearly two decades of discovery research leaves little doubt that smoking is a widespread problem and a major modifiable risk factor for disease and death in people living with HIV/AIDS.

"The delay between discovery of smoking related health outcomes in people living with HIV/AIDS and the delivery of interventions to reduce smoking among this population has serious consequences," Harris said.

To speed the process of finding solutions, she suggested researchers and clinicians in the HIV/AIDS field collaborate with experts in tobacco cessation who understand how targeted population-based programs work.he ultimate goal is to look at the evidence of what works to come up with effective programs that curb smoking among those who have HIV/AIDS.

The research was published online ahead of print on May 13 in the American Journal of Public Health. (ANI)