Stop-smoking interventions
STOP-SMOKING INTERVENTIONS
You are in an ideal position in your pharmacy to tell people who smoke that a range of interventions are available to help them stop smoking. You can explain how they can access these and refer to stop-smoking support if appropriate.
The following should be accessible to adults who smoke:2
- Behavioural interventions such as behavioural support and very brief advice
- Products such as nicotine replacement therapy (NRT).
Information you can provide to your customers includes:2
- The different forms of NRT available
- How to use them effectively when trying to cut down or stop smoking
- Long-term use to reduce the risk of relapsing
- The cost compared with smoking
You can also reassure customers about the safety and effectiveness of medically licensed nicotinecontaining products; any risks from using these products are much lower than the risks of smoking.2
Customers deciding to use NRT should agree a quit date and ensure they have NRT ready to start the day before the quit date.2
Very brief advice can take from 30 seconds to a couple of minutes and is about giving people information or signposting them to where they can get further support. It may also include raising awareness of the risks from smoking or providing encouragement and support for change. It follows three simple steps:7
| Step 1: ASK smoking status |
| Step 2: ADVISE on the best way of stopping smoking |
| Step 3: ACT on the customer’s response |
Behavioural support involves the person having planned meetings with someone who has been trained to provide stop-smoking support; this may be provided individually or in a group. Discussions may include information and encouragement, practical advice about goal setting, dealing with the barriers to stopping smoking as well as anticipating and dealing with the challenges of stopping smoking.2
WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
A 60 year old man comes into the pharmacy; his wife has been diagnosed with COPD and has told him he has to quit smoking. Choose one of the options below.
Tell him that giving up smoking won't make much difference to his wife's health, but if he wants to quit he should look for his local stop smoking service.
Advise him that stopping smoking is the best thing he can do for his wife now she has this diagnosis. Tell him that there is support and medicines available to make stopping easier and ask how you can help him.
Advise him that giving up smoking is a personal choice and he shouldn't try until he's ready.
Incorrect: although secondhand smoke can result in worse outcomes for patients with COPD,8 another answer is more suitable
Incorrect: while it is up to the customer to decide when they are ready to quit, there may be a better response to motivate a quit attempt.
Correct!