Smoking Cessation Guidelines (U.S. Public Health Service)
In May 2008, the U.S. Public Health Service released revised clinical practice guidelines for treating tobacco addiction.
The update, the first since 2000, encourages doctors to make tobacco cessation a priority for every patient who smokes, using medication and counseling. Among the changes in the revised guidelines:
- Counseling adds significantly to the effectiveness of medications in smoking control, and the two together work better than either alone. Counseling also increases smoking cessation among adolescents.
- Telephone quit lines have broad reach and work with diverse populations.
- Seven medications are now available that increase the likelihood of long-term smoking abstinence -- varenicline (Chantix); bupropion SR (Zyban); and nicotine delivered as gum, inhaler, lozenge, nasal spray, or patch.
The full text of the guidelines is available at http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/tobacco/treating_tobacco_use08.pdf
A guide summarizing the guidelines for clinicians is available at http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/tobacco/clinhlpsmksqt.htm
Anne Arundel County’s Learn To Live smoking cessation information is available at
http://www.aahealth.org/ltl_smokcessation.asp.
