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A global alliance to boost the fight against tobacco and nicotine from the dental office
In addition to its close collaboration with the National Committee for the Prevention of Smoking (CNPT), with whom a fruitful working group has already been established, it now formalizes its coalition with two leading institutions in this field: the association Nofumadores.org and the European Network for Smoking Prevention (ENSP).
“The close link between smoking and oral health not only raises the need to undertake treatment measures, but also opens up multiple possibilities for prevention; and, therefore, it is considered that the dental consultation can be a driving force to promote the abandonment of the consumption of tobacco and other products that contain nicotine, as well as to prevent the onset of this disease that is smoking,” says Dr. Paula Matesanz, president of SEPA.
Based on this premise, and aiming to achieve other important milestones, SEPA has signed collaboration agreements with the association Nofumadores.org and the European Network for Smoking and Tobacco Prevention (ENSP). The president of SEPA and the president of Nofumadores.org, Raquel Fernández Megina, who is also treasurer of ENSP, signed the alliance. In the words of Raquel Fernández Megina, “the fight against smoking requires the involvement of all areas of healthcare. Systematically incorporating cessation intervention into dental practice reinforces a comprehensive, evidence-based strategy and multiplies the real opportunities for quitting,” says the president of Nofumadores.org.
The event also included the participation of the current president of the CNPT, Noa Rey Torres, who believes that “we are at a crucial moment and a true window of opportunity to give new impetus to tobacco control. For years, Spain was an international benchmark in the adoption of effective policies, and now we must regain that leadership and once again position ourselves at the forefront in Europe to respond to the new challenges posed by tobacco and nicotine products,” she stated. According to the president of the National Committee for Tobacco Prevention, “agreements like this are fundamental because they allow us to combine efforts among organizations, broaden the scope of prevention and cessation actions, and accelerate the implementation of effective, evidence-based measures, with the aim of achieving a greater impact on public health.”
Interdisciplinary agreement with a global dimension
This formalizes an interdisciplinary collaboration, adding to the scientific cooperation with CNPT, where the figure of dentist Francisco Rodríguez Lozano, former president of the National Committee for Smoking Prevention in Spain and a regular collaborator with SEPA, has been crucial. “SEPA’s agreement with Nofumadores.org and the ENSP represents the culmination of SEPA’s ongoing work to improve the general health of the population through the improvement of oral health,” he affirms.
The importance of smoking as a risk factor for numerous general diseases is also very significant in oral health. Therefore, this agreement aims to empower dental clinic teams by providing them with the tools to help patients quit smoking or avoid starting. “Thanks to the ENSP, this work by SEPA will transcend our borders and acquire a European dimension, improving the capacity of European dentists to participate in the fight against the leading cause of preventable disease in Europe,” emphasizes Dr. Rodríguez Lozano, who has dedicated more than two decades to promoting tobacco prevention, having served as president of the Santa Cruz de Tenerife College of Dentists, the CNPT, and the ENSP.
This approach addresses a common goal: to curb the smoking epidemic and promote a tobacco- and nicotine-free society. One of the first joint actions stemming from this agreement is a global online session, led by SEPA, entitled “Working together to stop tobacco and nicotine,” scheduled for June 4th, about which we will provide timely updates. ENSP will, in fact, be one of SEPA’s global partners in this ambitious global initiative, which has already been joined by 25 countries, with the involvement of leading institutions and organizations.
As Fernández Megina points out, “if we want to move towards a tobacco- and nicotine-free generation, we must act before consumption becomes entrenched. Prevention in healthcare settings, including dental clinics, is key to curbing the recruitment of new smokers and dismantling the false perception of normality that still surrounds tobacco.”
References, nationally and internationally.
The ENSP is an international non-profit organization, established in 1997. Its main mission is to develop a strategy for coordinated action among organizations active in tobacco control in Europe, through the exchange of information and experiences, and through coordinated activities and joint projects. It aims to create greater coherence among smoking prevention activities and promote comprehensive tobacco control policies at both the national and European levels.
Ultimately, the aim is to eliminate health inequalities among European citizens and the suffering caused by illnesses and premature deaths resulting from tobacco and nicotine use, committing to use the best evidence for policy and practice effectiveness to work together towards this common goal. Among other objectives, the goal is to implement the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) in Europe and reduce the prevalence of tobacco use in Europe to less than 5% by 2040. The ENSP is governed by a General Assembly composed of representatives from European national tobacco coalitions, specialized European tobacco control networks, and organizations working in this field and/or in health promotion.
For its part, Nofumadores.org is a leading citizens' association in Spain dedicated to defending the rights of non-smokers and promoting tobacco control policies. Founded in 2004, it has maintained constant dialogue with institutions and policymakers, and is part of the Tobacco Observatory of the Ministry of Health. It has been a member of ENSP since 2018 and a collaborating partner of CNPT since 2021. In 2023, it spearheaded a European Citizens' Initiative for a tobacco-free generation and continues to work towards the ENDGAME 2030 goal. In 2022, it received the WHO World No Tobacco Day Award in recognition of its outstanding contribution to tobacco control.
The CNPT is a platform that coordinates more than 45 scientific societies, professional organizations, and patient associations with the common goal of reducing the impact of smoking in Spain. Its work focuses on promoting effective public policies for tobacco control, raising social awareness, and promoting evidence-based prevention and cessation measures. This work has been recognized with important distinctions, such as the award given by the World Health Organization in 2003 for the best work in smoking prevention in Europe and the Medal of the Civil Order of Health in 2005, among other awards that attest to its contribution to improving public health.
SEPA's work
SEPA and its Foundation have not only promoted the ‘Working Group on Oral Health and Tobacco’ and held several editions of the ‘Oral Health and Smoking Cessation Day,’ but, together with the National Committee for Smoking Prevention, have made available to the more than 22,000 dental clinics in Spain a protocol to facilitate smoking cessation in the dental office. The protocol provides effective, simple, and practical guidance to members of the oral health team, enabling them to implement a brief smoking cessation counseling approach.
As periodontist Regina Izquierdo, coordinator of this Working Group, points out, “from the dental office we have a great opportunity to influence smoking cessation, since we regularly attend to a large sector of the population, thus having multiple opportunities to advise, help and accompany our patients in this process of quitting tobacco use.”
De la misma forma, se apunta la importante labor que se puede desempeñar desde la consulta dental al informar a padres e hijos de los riesgos para la salud general y bucodental de las nuevas formas de consumo de nicotina (vapeadores y bolsas nicotina o snus), cada vez más arraigadas entre la población joven que siguen viéndolo como productos de riesgo reducido. “Nuestro objetivo en SEPA es concienciar a los miles de dentistas españoles y a sus equipos en la necesidad de que se impliquen de manera rutinaria en intervenciones de cesación tabáquica en sus consultas, y este acuerdo refuerza aún más el valor de estas estrategias”, concluye la Dra. Izquierdo.
Similarly, the important role that can be played in dental practices is highlighted, particularly in informing parents and children about the risks to general and oral health posed by new forms of nicotine consumption (vapes and nicotine pouches or snus), which are increasingly prevalent among young people who continue to view them as low-risk products. “Our goal at SEPA is to raise awareness among the thousands of Spanish dentists and their teams about the need for them to routinely incorporate smoking cessation interventions into their practices, and this agreement further reinforces the value of these strategies,” concludes Dr. Izquierdo.