The Canadian Journal of Rural Medicine will be publishing research findings that led to the development of a smoking cessation program for hospitalized patients in northwestern Ontario.

The paper was written by Dr. Patricia Smith, associate professor at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, and Dr. Scott Sellick, director, supportive care at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre.

It was found that the rate at which northwestern Ontario physicians actively encourage patients to quit smoking is higher than their global counterparts.

A $270,000 Northern Cancer Fund grant allowed additional research to be conducted along with a new program to enable healthcare providers to follow clinical practice guidelines by administering one-to-three minute bedside interventions.

“I am confident that cancer rates in our region will be reduced because of this program,” said Sellick.

Presently, smoking is directly related to 85 per cent of lung cancers, 30 per cent of all other cancers and to cardiac disease.

Their work will also be presented in Montreal and Ireland in April.