Prospects for smoking cessation among people with insulin-dependent diabetes

As part of an initiative to develop a smoking cessation resource tailored to the needs of smokers with diabetes, we undertook a survey of 223 people with insulin-dependent diabetes (IDDM) aged 15-40 years, 54 of whom were smokers. Smokers had high levels of awareness that smoking increases the risk of heart and peripheral vascular disease, but were less aware of the risk of microvascular complications. Nearly half of the smokers had other members of the household who were smokers, and 56% indicated they would expect to receive no more than a little encouragement from friends and family members to quit. Concern about weight gain and dietary adherence was a barrier to quitting smoking for approximately one-third of smokers. Seventy percent of smokers recalled advice to quit smoking from a general practitioner, but this most often had involved minimal advice to quit. There is scope for patient education with respect to microvascular complications exacerbated by smoking, and a need to consider the smoking habits of other household members and enlist their active support for smoking cessation.