Smoking cessation: what works in primary care settings

Abstract

This paper presents evidence-based strategies for assisting patients in quitting smoking. Summaries of the effectiveness of advice alone, varying levels of behavioral counseling, nicotine replacement therapies, and bupropion either alone or in combinations are presented. We describe two web-based resources, one that offers guidance to practitioners and another that is intended as a training tool for students or healthcare professionals on ways to intervene with patients who smoke. The training curriculum contains both didactic material based on the U.S. Public Health Service Clinical Practice Guideline and tutorials with simulated patients depicting various types of real-life scenarios. The curriculum can meet the need for training among both students and practitioners in medicine, nursing, health education, dentistry, and other healthcare professions.