Nine out of 10 lung cancer diagnoses are caused by cigarette smoking, which is equivalent, in Italy, to almost 40 thousand new cases in 2023. In our country, 24.5% of adults (18-69 years old) smoke. A bad habit that is increasingly widespread, especially among women, which corresponds to a progressive increase in mortality from lung cancer in this segment of the population. Today 75-80% of cases are diagnosed at an advanced stage, which implies reduced chances of recovery, high costs at an individual and social level and a significant impact on the sustainability of the entire National Health Service. The #SOStenereSSN campaign is based on this framework, promoted jointly by Aiom (Italian Association of Medical Oncology), the Aiom Foundation and Panorama della Sanità, presented today to the Senate. An initiative that aims to support the NHS and raise awareness among citizens and institutions about the harm of smoking.
The goal is increase the price of cigarette packs by 5 eurosa real purpose tax, which can generate up to 13.8 billion to be immediately allocated to financing the Health Service. Countries such as France have already changed the selling price, which today is around 12 euros for cigarettes. The USA has also set high costs, around 8 dollars. The campaign will see the creation of a dedicated website, a downloadable brochure and a commercial, with the involvement of institutions and testimonials ready to explain to everyone the benefits of a healthy, smoke-free lifestyle.
Airc, Cipomo, Istituto Mario Negri, Crea Sanità, Sitab, Cittadinanzattiva, Acc (Alliance against cancer), Order of Doctors of Rome, Sihata, Pmi healthcare, Onda Foundation, Longevitas Foundation, RES Foundation, Simm have already joined the campaign. .
“Tobacco smoking, in addition to being the main risk factor for lung cancer, is also strongly associated with cancers of the oral cavity, throat, esophagus, pancreas, colon, bladder, prostate and kidney – explains Francesco Perrone, president of Aiom – It is also linked to cardiovascular diseases, such as heart attack and stroke, and respiratory diseases, such as emphysema, asthma and COPD. This evidence shows the need for interventions aimed at reducing its consumption. Due to the large number of sufferers and smoking-related pathologies. Furthermore, the costs borne by the health service are very high. In Italy, over 93 thousand deaths are attributable to tobacco smoking, with direct and indirect costs amounting to over 26 billion euros campaign aimed at asking the institutions for an increase of 5 euros in the public price of smoking products, with a dual objective: on the one hand to dissuade smokers, on the other to transform this new revenue into a specific tax, in order to be able to reinvest it completely in financing of the health service”.
“As a representative of the institutions and above all as an oncology researcher, I presented my proposal last week in the Senate to raise the cost of cigarettes and smoking products, as has already happened in other countries – states Maria Domenica Castellone, vice-president of the Senate – We could thus generating over 13 billion euros in revenues to be invested in strengthening the NHS, as well as in advertising campaigns aimed at making young people aware of all the risks associated with cigarette consumption. The protection of citizens’ health is enshrined in our law Constitution, and everything must be done to ensure that it is fully realized.”
In Italy, in the period 2007-2019, an excess of 16,036 deaths from lung cancer were documented in women, 16% more than expected. A picture that reflects the gender diversity in the spread of the habit of smoking over time and which suggests the opportunity to strongly promote the fight against smoking.
“In recent years there has been a slow but constant decrease in the overall number of smokers, with an increase during the pandemic – underlines Saverio Cinieri, president of the Aiom Foundation – Anti-smoking campaigns and greater attention to primary prevention have achieved positive results. Despite this, the incidence of lung cancer and its mortality are still high, with numbers increasing among women, especially at an advanced age, since the harms of smoking can emerge even after a long time 44 thousand, 30 thousand in men and 14 thousand in women. It is essential to activate campaigns that can raise awareness among the population on this issue, on the importance of healthy lifestyles and on the need to stop the smoking habit as soon as possible, because, even if a decrease of the number of cigarettes is a good starting point, there is no threshold below which they are not harmful.”
The #SOStenereSSN campaign “has as its primary objective that of recovering precious resources to meet the many needs of the health service by attacking a harmful habit such as smoking – concludes Sandro Franco, director of Panorama della Sanità – The data speaks clearly: in Italy, 24.5% of citizens smoke and one in 4 consumes more than a pack of cigarettes per day. Increasing the cost of the pack by 5 euros would potentially generate a volume of around 13.8 billion euros per year for a system that suffers from a chronic lack of resources. Obviously the hope is that this increase in costs will also translate into a strong disincentive for young people. We therefore hope that our campaign can be beneficial for both health and healthcare of our country”.
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