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How to help your patients stop smoking.
1National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland.
American Family Physician
|October 1, 1990
Summary
Family physicians can help patients quit smoking using brief interventions and office organization. This includes advising cessation, providing resources, and scheduling follow-ups for effective smoking cessation support.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Family Medicine
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Smoking remains a significant public health concern.
- Physician intervention is a critical factor in smoking cessation.
- Primary care settings offer opportunities for smoking cessation interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To outline a protocol for family physicians to implement effective smoking cessation interventions.
- To detail practical office procedures that support brief smoking cessation counseling.
Main Methods:
- Implementing a brief intervention strategy for all patients.
- Advising smokers to quit, offering self-help materials, and setting quit dates.
- Prescribing nicotine gum and arranging follow-up visits.
- Establishing office procedures: coordinator, smoke-free environment, patient identification, and staff involvement.
Main Results:
- The described protocol enables intervention at every office visit.
- Systematic integration of smoking cessation into routine family practice.
- Enhanced patient support for quitting smoking.
Conclusions:
- Family physicians can effectively facilitate smoking cessation.
- Simple organizational changes and brief interventions improve smoking cessation outcomes.
- Routine integration of smoking cessation support in primary care is feasible and beneficial.