Implementing the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research smoking cessation guidelines: a call to action

Smoking is the single most preventable cause of death in our society. Each year, cigarettes kill more Americans than AIDS, alcohol, car accidents, fires, illegal drugs, murders, and suicides combined. An estimated 46 million adults in the United States smoke--28% of all men and 23.5% of all women. Seventy percent of Americans who smoke say that they would like to quit. Additionally, 70% who smoke visit a healthcare provider each year. Unfortunately, half of these who seek health care each year say they have never been advised to quit smoking or provided specific strategies to be successful at quitting. In 1996, the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) published smoking cessation materials in several formats that target different audiences. This article describes the significant health problems of smoking and the AHCPR publications for smoking cessation. Providers are encouraged to identify smoking cessation as a priority and incorporate the AHCPR guidelines into routine health care for all patient encounters.