Tobacco dependence

In January, the NICE guideline ‘Tobacco: preventing uptake, promoting quitting and treating dependence’ was updated to cover support to stop smoking for everyone aged 12 years and over to improve harm reduction, recognising that a range of support is needed if people are not ready to quit in one attempt. It also covers ways of preventing people from taking up smoking in the first place (for children and young adults aged 24 years and under).

The new guideline has consolidated a range of other guidance on tobacco control and smoking cessation in one place. These changes have been promoted by the Primary Care Respiratory Society and a position statement published laying out the responsibilities of all healthcare professionals to treat tobacco dependency “systematically and effectively”.