SUS institutes program to combat smoking throughout Brazil

Created by the Ministry of Health, this Tuesday, the National Tobacco Control Program (PNCT) was established under the Unified Health System (SUS). As a result, SUS now offers treatment for smoking and nicotine addiction.

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It will be up to the State and Municipal Health Secretariats to implement the program in their areas of activity. The national coordination will be the National Cancer Institute (INCA).

Objectives and constituent axes

As available in the measure published in the Official Gazette, the objective of the new program is “to reduce the prevalence of users of tobacco and nicotine addicts and the consequent morbidity and mortality related to the consumption of tobacco derivatives, nicotine dependence and environmental exposure to tobacco smoke, through health promotion, prevention and treatment of smoking and tobacco dependence nicotine."

Highlighted in its Article 4, the axes that form the basis of the program are: management; comprehensive care (including prevention and health promotion actions); Health education; and health surveillance. The objectives of this management axis are:

• Articulate the treatment network for users of tobacco products and nicotine dependents in the SUS;
• Improve actions and services for the development of strategies for the promotion, protection, prevention, cessation and treatment of smoking;
• Expand prevention and smoking cessation actions across the entire population, especially for the most vulnerable groups;
• Improve existing information systems to ensure monitoring and evaluation of care and assistance.

(the above information was taken from Article 5 of the publication)

Check out other core provisions of the proposal below!

comprehensive care

• Promote comprehensive care, including qualification of access, prevention of initiation and experimentation of the tobacco, treatment of tobacco product and nicotine dependent users, and protection from exposure to smoke environmental;
• Promoting health protection workers and female workers, with an emphasis on those who work in the tobacco production chain;
• Stimulate the development of healthy environments with the implementation of environments free of tobacco-derived or non-smoking products;
• Foster health promotion actions aimed at preventing initiation and supporting smoking cessation, reducing morbidity and mortality from diseases associated with smoking;
• Promote the cessation of the use of tobacco products in accordance with the guidelines established by the Ministry of Health.

(the above information was taken from Article 6 of the publication)

Objectives of the Health Education axis

• Qualify professionals to improve care for users of tobacco products and nicotine dependents and increase adherence to smoking cessation treatment;
• Train professionals to strengthen the management of the PNCT in states and municipalities and the care service for users of tobacco products and nicotine dependents in the SUS;
• Foster education actions for the population on health promotion, prevention of tobacco use, inspection actions for the legislation in force, cessation and protection of exposure to environmental smoke;
• Qualify health surveillance professionals and other health professionals to strengthen tobacco inspection and control actions.

(the above information was taken from Article 7 of the publication)

Health Surveillance

• Monitor the prevalence of tobacco product and nicotine use and other relevant epidemiological data;
• Monitor the behavior of using tobacco products and their derivatives, including data on the consumption of different smoking products derived or not from tobacco and on illegal products, as well as the scope of measures to control the tobacco;
• Identify groups in situations of vulnerability and inequity in health for initiation to the use of tobacco and nicotine products;
• Monitor tobacco industry strategies that may interfere with smoking initiation and cessation;
• carry out actions of health surveillance related to the inspection and control of smoking products derived or not from tobacco.

(the above information was taken from Article 8 of the publication)