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by nycScribbler, 2 January 2009
It is becoming very evident to patient advocates that the mental well being of lung cancer patients as a result of smoking are worth defending. Lung cancer patients rarely get sympathy and kindness from society.
Anyone who has a friend or family member who smokes knows how difficult it is to watch your loved one hurt themselves. It’s also agonizing when you find out that they’ve been diagnosed with lung cancer, after all, they did it to themselves. Nobody forced that cigarette to their lips – it was voluntary. And with all the information and medication to help you quit nowadays, how could anyone possibly want to inflict this kind of detrimental harm to their own body?
Unfortunately, it’s not that simple to simply cast them aside and say “I told you so.”
Things are never that straight forward and there are always two sides to any story. There have been examples where the Supreme Court in the United States has ruled that tobacco companies can be sued by smokers who claim they were mislead by “light” cigarettes.
We’ve all seen “light” cigarettes – the ones that claim to have lower tar and nicotine, and many people believe the advertisements that say they are better than the regular run-of- the-mill “lung darts” as I like to call them. WRONG. Studies conducted found that when puffed by actual smokers, the cigarettes yielded about the same amount of smoke, tar, and nicotine as regular brands. More than 45 million Americans are smokers, and nearly 85% of them buy light cigarettes, such as Marlboro Lights. Smokers started switching to these cigarettes in the 1970s, thinking they were safer.
This comes as no surprise to me. A tobacco company lied? Well, duh.
However, I do believe that is wrong to falsely advertise and mislead smokers. The Supreme Court recently ruled that cigarette makers could be sued for allegedly deceiving smokers about the dangers of highly popular “light” cigarettes.
The Federal Trade Commission told the court that the tobacco industry had known for at least 30 years that light cigarettes were not safer. It also said the use of labels such as “light,” “ultra light” or “low tar” was just a marketing gimmick to fool smokers that they were being faced with less of a health risk.
The decision allows class-action lawsuits to go forward in several states and opens the door to suits in other states. In the past, the Supreme Court protected cigarette makers from being sued by smokers who said they were not warned about the dangers and health risks of smoking. Then in 1969, federal law required warning labels on cigarette packs, and in 1992 the court ruled that the law barred claims from smokers who said they were not warned about the health risks.
In an unprecedented move, which has anti-smoking activists rejoicing, the high court ruled that cigarette makers could be sued for deceptive advertising under state consumer-protection laws. It is far from certain whether lawsuits over light cigarettes will lead to large verdicts, but at least it’s a start.
False advertising aside, people are becoming ill from smoking and society in general is being less sympathetic in their judgment and the effects are having serious repercussions.
Jimmie Holland, a psychologist at New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center who is the founding president of the American Psychosocial Oncology Society, says that the blame is a double strain on people. She believes that it's bad enough to have lung cancer, but now the patients are getting reprimanded for it.
Holland is often credited as the mother of the movement to heighten the importance of psychological counseling for cancer patients, and she is particularly interested in the predicament of lung cancer patients.
Of course, let’s not forget that all lung cancer patients are not former smokers. This is one of the campaign themes that advocacy groups are hitting hard. Society closely bundles tobacco use with lung cancer, and this is not always the case.
As a society, we stigmatize lung cancer, and for this reason patients with the disease often don’t seek support. There are no pink ribbons for lung cancer or no special donations to the cause.
The statistics show that about 85 percent of lung cancer patients are current or former smokers, according to the Lung Cancer Alliance. This gives credence to anyone wanting to wallow in blame. Clinical studies have noted the guilt, shame, and depression that cancer patients experience. Typically, their guilt is swept under the rug.
Apparently, one of the biggest gaps in the services related to lung cancer is counseling for family members struggling with their conflicting feelings about the disease. Maureen Rigney, director of patient services at the Lung Cancer Alliance, says that she gets phone calls and e-mails from loved ones who are very disheartened that their cancer-stricken family member hasn't stopped smoking or from those who find it difficult to make sense of the diagnosis if their loved one quit smoking long ago. For these family members, groups such as the Lung Cancer Alliance offer Internet forums and phone buddies, and at Sloan-Kettering, Holland organizes support meetings for patients and their families.
This is no doubt a difficult issue. The bottom line is that lung cancer patients deserve counseling and sympathy. Those of us that are healthy and take care of our bodies should be thankful, and not self righteous.
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..... Stop here
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