Why nursing research in tobacco control?

Tobacco use is an epidemic of overwhelming proportions affecting survival, causing millions of deaths every year, causing untold human suffering worldwide, and contributing to escalating health care costs. Nursing research is vital to advancing knowledge in the field and to the translation of science to evidence-based practice. As the largest group of health care professionals (17 million worldwide), nurses have the capacity for an enormous impact on this leading cause of preventable death. This chapter thus provides a historical overview of the tobacco epidemic, health risks of smoking and benefits of quitting, nicotine addiction, and recommendations of evidence-based tobacco dependence treatment as a backdrop for understanding the importance and need for nursing scholarship. Also examined are nursing science efforts and leadership in removing two barriers to mounting programs of nursing research in tobacco control: (1) lack of nursing education and training in tobacco control, and (2) limited research funding and mentorship. The chapter also addresses the issue of smoking in the profession as it impacts nurses' health, clinical practice, and, potentially, scholarship efforts.