Physical activity at the sport-health home (MSS) Curial, in the 19th arrondissement of Paris. CLEMENT DORVAL / CITY OF PARIS
Ten thousand steps and more. In the series of good resolutions for the new year, quitting smoking is often at the top of the list. The City of Paris and the National Cancer Institute (INCa) announced, at the end of December 2023, the launch of a cessation assistance program based on physical activity (PA).
The numbers are overwhelming: “Tobacco is by far the number one enemy in terms of public health”, insists Thierry Breton, general director of INCa. With 75,000 deaths per year in France, including 46,000 from cancer, smoking is the leading cause of preventable mortality. “One in two smokers will die from a tobacco-related disease”, indicates the press release from INCa and the City of Paris. It is the cause of more than 80% of lung cancers, but also involved in seventeen other locations of malignant tumors.
Quitting smoking often seems insurmountable. One in two smokers want to quit, but less than half succeed. The cause is a strong dependence on nicotine, which can induce a withdrawal syndrome, but also craving, this irrepressible desire to take a cigarette, which can persist for weeks or even months after stopping the substance. This compelling desire to consume is a component of addictions.
Read also: A large study published in “The Lancet” highlights the role of tobacco and alcohol in cancers
A program, funded by INCa to the tune of 120,000 euros, will be offered in the coming weeks at the Curial sports–health center (MSS) in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, to around sixty people.
During a first interview, the participants’ motivation to quit and their physical abilities will be assessed, in order to propose the most suitable activities. They will benefit from three free sessions per week, of 45 minutes to one hour, over a period of six months. A first assessment will be carried out at the end of the program and another six months later. Additional activities such as tobacco consultations may also be offered. Then, the objective is to make the subject autonomous so that he can access free slots in the City of Paris, in the MSS Curial or others. In the event of a relapse, the person may be offered other options.
Help to reduce “craving”
“If the experience proves conclusive, the idea is to decline this program, so that it can be offered to all communitiesexplains Thierry Breton. This type of initiative rather targets the less privileged public, whose consumption is higher and the risk of returning to smoking is greater. »
You have 40% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.