Addressing Tobacco Dependence Through a Nurse-driven Tobacco Intervention Protocol

Tobacco use contributes to the largest proportion of preventable disease, disability, and death. Use of tobacco products is at epidemic proportions in the United States. Estimates retrieved between 2012 and 2013 by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 1 in 5 adults used tobacco products. Tobacco use was greatest among men, young adults, those living in the Midwest and south, and those with less education. Cigarette smoking resulting in inhalation of tobacco and its by-products is the most common form of tobacco use. Tobacco use results in multiple diseases, including numerous cancers and chronic diseases.