Smoking Cessation

Resource Overview

Smoking is a major risk factor associated with cancer and increased cardiovascular disease. Although the prevalence of smoking is declining within the western world, the diseases associated with it continue to be a major health issue to the country. Consequently, asking patients about their smoking status and offering advice on stopping smoking is a significant component of the General Medical Services (GMS) contract.

Much emphasis is placed upon helping patients to stop smoking with the establishment of smoking cessation services in community, practice and pharmacy. Decades ago individuals who sought help with smoking cessation relied on willpower alone. However, recent therapeutic developments have equipped healthcare professionals with drug therapies to complement traditional strategies and enable more people to stop smoking.

This resource, composed of 10 assessment questions, is based around typical clinical scenarios familiar to you in your practice, and will test your knowledge of the issues of smoking cessation. Successfully complete these questions to obtain your certificate of continuous professional development for one hour.

Aims and Objectives

• Describe some of the major concerns that women and men have about quitting smoking
• Describe an approach to discussing the long-term negative effects of smoking with young males and females who are focused only on the short-term positive associations with smoking tobacco
• Identify and analyse social factors influencing smoking rates to increase among young people