Cessation interventions in routine health care

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Abstract
Introduction Smoking cessation interventions are widely underused in primary and secondary care despite being effective and easy to deliver (see earlier articles in this series). Smoking causes much greater harm than, say, hypertension (which is generally identified and managed entirely in primary care by health professionals working to agreed routine, systematic, and structured protocols), yet few primary healthcare teams manage smoking as methodically as they approach hypertension. Maximising the delivery of cessation interventions to smokers wanting to quit can probably achieve more in terms of years of life saved and provide better value for money (see later article in this series) than almost any other simple medical intervention. View larger version: In this window In a new window Example of record sheet for noting information on smoking status and intervention. The sheet can be inserted into paper records; computer templates enable a similar electronic record to be kept Further reading •. Butler CC, Pill R, Stott NC .Qualitative study of patients' perceptions of doctors' advice to quit smoking: implications for opportunistic health promotion.BMJ 1998;316: 1878–81. •. Coleman T, Murphy E, Cheater FC .Factors influencing discussions about smoking between general practitioners and patients who smoke: a qualitative study.Br J Gen Pract 2000;50: 207–10. •. Rollnick SR, Mason P, Butler C .Health behaviour change: a guide for practitioners.London: Churchill Livingstone, 1999. •. West R, McNeill A, Raw M .Smoking cessation guidelines for health professionals: an update.Thorax 2000;55: 987–99.