Action | Strategies for implementation |
Help the patient with a quit plan | Set a quit date. Ideally, the quit date should be within 2 weeks. |
Tell family, friends, and coworkers about quitting and request understanding and support. |
Anticipate challenges to planned quit attempt, particularly during the critical first few weeks. These include nicotine withdrawal symptoms. |
Remove tobacco products from your environment. Prior to quitting, avoid smoking in places where you spend a lot of time (eg, work, home, car). |
Provide practical counseling (problem solving/training) | Abstinence - Total abstinence is essential. "Not even a single puff after the quit date." |
Past quit experience - Review past quit attempts, including identification of what helped during the quit attempt and what factors contributed to relapse. |
Anticipate triggers or challenges in upcoming attempt - Discuss challenges/triggers and how patient will successfully overcome them. Advise patient to remove all tobacco from home, car, and work environment. |
Alcohol - Because alcohol can cause relapse, the patient should consider limiting/abstaining from alcohol while quitting. |
Other smokers in the household - Quitting is more difficult when there is another smoker in the household. Patients should encourage housemates to quit with them or not smoke in their presence. |
Provide intra-treatment social support | Provide a supportive clinical environment while encouraging the patient in their quit attempt. "My office staff and I are available to assist you." |
Help the patient obtain extra-treatment social support | Help the patient develop social support for their quit attempt in their environments outside of treatment. "Ask your spouse/partner, friends, and coworkers to support you in your quit attempt." |
Recommend the use of approved pharmacotherapy, except in special circumstances | Recommend the use of pharmacotherapies found to be effective. Explain how these medications increase smoking cessation success and reduce withdrawal symptoms. |
Provide supplementary materials | Sources - Federal agencies, nonprofit agencies, or local/state health departments. Offer a free telephone quitline (in the United States, 1-800-QUIT-NOW or 1-800-784-8669 can be used). |
Type - Culturally/racially/educationally/age appropriate for the patient. |
Location - Readily available at every clinician's workstation. |