Unsolicited GP advice against smoking: to give or not to give?

This article discusses whether general practitioners (GPs) should give unsolicited antismoking advice to patients who smoke. Patient preferences and GP advice-giving are discussed with particular reference to professional roles. It is suggested that giving unsolicited advice against smoking at nearly every encounter is a competitive rather than collaborative behavior. General practitioners should ascertain patients' readiness for change before offering to help produce individualized agreements of joint benefit on change. Three strategies for negotiation--bridging, trading, and logrolling--are discussed.