Smoking cessation modalities: a comparison for healthcare professionals

Smoking cigarettes is the most preventable cause of disease and death in our society. Over 400,000 deaths annually in the United States are directly associated with the use of cigarettes. More than 40 million adult Americans have quit smoking cigarettes, or approximately half of all living adults in the US who have ever smoked. However, every day more than 3000 children and adolescents initiate tobacco use. Primary prevention strategies are the preferred methods to decrease tobacco use. Healthcare professionals in a variety of settings have multiple opportunities to offer antismoking messages to nonsmokers. For current smokers, the process of quitting remains a very difficult task. When readiness to quit is acknowledged by a smoker, he or she is faced with many choices about available smoking cessation modalities. Healthcare professionals are in key roles to decipher program offerings and to guide smokers toward successful strategies for quitting. This article gives an overview of various modalities used in smoking cessation programs and discusses their strengths and quit rates.