Smoking cessation and tobacco control: an overview

Cigarette smoking is an intractable public health problem and the single largest risk factor for a variety of malignancies, including lung cancer. Worldwide, about 3 million people die each year of smoking-related disease, and this is expected to increase to > 10 million deaths per year. The Agency for Health Care Policy and Research has published a clinical practice guideline detailing available outcome data for various smoking cessation strategies. In particular, it has been recommended that all patients be screened for smoking status on every health-care visit, and that all patients who smoke be strongly advised to quit and offered assistance to do so. Health-care providers play a vital role in the effort to reduce the prevalence of smoking by delivering smoking cessation advice, supporting community-based efforts to control tobacco, and becoming involved in the tobacco control debate.