Very brief advice is designed to be delivered in around 30 seconds and uses the ‘AAA’  approach:

Ask

Ask patients if they smoke and if they have thought about stopping. If the person is an ex-smoker ask how they are doing. Smoking is often described as a ‘chronic relapsing condition’ and it is normal for people to relapse.

You can also ask a patient about passive smoking – for example, if a patient is buying OTC treatments (e.g. cough mixture, sore throat remedies, cold sore treatments) or if a prescription for an inhaler is being issued, ask if they live with a smoker. Mention that second-hand (passive) smoke can make their condition worse. At this point some patients may reveal they smoke themselves.

Advise

Advise patients that stopping smoking is the single most important thing they can do to improve their health and that of others around them. Tell them the best way to stop is with a combination of medication and specialist support by trained individuals.

Act

Act on the patient’s response by building confi dence, giving information or referring to a NHS stop smoking service (this could be your own or another local service).