Local pharmacists are taking the fight to nicotine addiction.
Noah Johnston
Kicker
Mary Somerton started smoking when she was 21 years old. What started out as an occasional cigarette quickly spiralled into nicotine dependency.
Over the years her attempts to quit piled up with limited success. During the best of them, she could go as long as six months without a cigarette, but she never managed to quit for good.
Later in life, Somerton developed COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The condition causes chronic inflammation in the lungs that can lead to difficulty breathing, fits of coughing and more.
But last year, Somerton did not smoke a single cigarette.
“It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do,” Somerton said.
She credits her success to the smoking cessation program offered by Memorial University’s school of pharmacy.
Terri Genge, one of the pharmacists who work on the project, said most people require multiple attempts to fully quit. She added that situations like Somerton’s are all too common in this province.
“The rate of smoking here is fairly high,” Genge said. “In 2023 the national average was around 11 per cent. According to the Canadian community health survey. Newfoundland and Labrador had one of the highest in the country at around 15 per cent.”
The program is offered free of charge through the Medication Therapy Services Clinic in St. John’s. It employs what Genge describes as a hybrid approach, involving pharmacists working with patients to create individualized ‘quit’ plans. Usually these will combine prescribed medication therapy and nicotine replacement options such as nicotine patches or chewing gum with a counselling component.
Somerton says the counselling and education she received helped her stay strong when the urge to smoke was overwhelming.
“It was more intense. Very detailed as to what it affects in your body, all the physiological changes and triggers,” Somerton recalled. “The one-on-one support was really needed.”
The program also assists patients with the costs of nicotine replacements and of quit medications. Special requests allow amounts beyond the normally allotted single annual quit attempt for people on income support.
Both Somerton and Genge identify follow-up care as another key element of the system’s success. For many smokers, having someone to call on when cravings arise or a relapse happens can prevent these moments from spiralling out of control.
There is a cost to this focused approach. Currently, the program employs only two pharmacists who split their time between the clinical work and their instructional duties at the university. The limited staff, intensive nature of the system and the province’s large smoking population have led to a long waitlist.
“We have around 50 people right now, waiting for an opportunity,” said Genge.
Some triage is necessary when managing the demand. The program gives priority to people who have already developed smoking related co-morbidities, which can mean patients with COPD, heart disease or lung cancer who are still smoking daily.
Genge suggests the solution to the demand might be simpler than expected. She and her fellow instructors at Memorial University now teach this approach in the classroom. She is hoping that this training means graduating pharmacists will be equipped to tackle smoking in the community by confidently prescribing quit medications and offering the best advice possible. The aim is to provide a similar experience to the program by combining high quality over-the-counter care in pharmacies with community-based care like Smoker’s Help Line.
For now, Genge is focused on doing what she can.
“One in two smokers will eventually die from complications related to their smoking. So, for every two people I help quit, I feel like I’ve saved a life.”
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story said coverage for nicotine replacement therapy was available through MCP. In fact, the coverage is available for individuals on income support.
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