Pharmacists' attitudes, role perceptions and interventions regarding smoking cessation: findings from four Canadian provinces

Abstract

Pharmacists in Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan and Prince Edward Island were surveyed in 2002 regarding their professional involvement in smoking cessation. In all provinces, at least 70 percent had positive attitudes toward smoking cessation. At least 50 percent thought that pharmacists have important roles in motivating patients to quit and in most aspects of motivating, assisting and referring patients. However, in all provinces, less than 40 percent had intervened in various ways in the past year with more than one half of their patients who smoked. Advising cutting down or quitting, attempting to increase motivation to quit and suggesting the use of nicotine replacement therapy were the most often performed interventions. Consistent inter-provincial patterns of differences in attitudes, role perceptions and interventions were not found. Some differences in attitudes and role perceptions were found between pharmacists practicing in provinces either banning or not banning tobacco sales in pharmacies, but there was no difference in overall interventions. The findings provide a baseline for provincial monitoring of pharmacists' professional smoking cessation attitudes, role perceptions and interventions. They also may inform tobacco control initiatives.