Treatment of tobacco dependence: current state of the art

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' requirement to integrate tobacco treatment with lung cancer screening (LCS) has served as a catalyst for motivating pulmonary medicine clinicians to improve upon their ability to effectively treat tobacco dependence. To do so, clinicians need to be well versed in the behavioral and pharmacologic tools that promote smoking cessation.

The current review outlines current strategies for treating tobacco dependence, focusing on the important interplay between counseling and pharmacotherapy. Studies that have been found to be particularly effective in patients with smoking-related lung disease and in the LCS setting are reviewed. New therapies that are in the pipeline, as well as novel strategies aimed at improving both adoption and effectiveness of existing therapies, are discussed.

Treating tobacco dependence improves mortality and quality of life far more than the limited therapies available to treat smoking-related lung disease. Novel strategies to making tobacco treatment services more widely available, particularly to vulnerable patient populations, are needed to further decrease smoking-related morbidity and mortality. The Affordable Care Act's greater focus on prevention represents a moment of opportunity for healthcare providers and systems to engage in these efforts.