Smoking Cessation in Patients With Cancer: Treatment Advances and the Oncologist's Role.

The harms of smoking cigarettes are well-known, and the benefits of smoking cessation are well-established. Smoking cessation is especially important for patients with cancer, because smoking compromises the effects of cancer treatment and shortens survival. Interventions to achieve tobacco abstinence include pharmacotherapy and counseling, and these often must be repeated. Patients should be encouraged at every juncture to continue attempts to stop smoking.