Supporting smoking cessation: a guide for health professionals (original) (raw)

The RACGP Supporting smoking cessation: a guide for health professionals Tobacco smoking is a worldwide threat to human life. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that around 5.4 million people died prematurely in 2008 from tobacco related diseases and, on current trends, this number will increase to 8 million deaths each year before 2030. Eighty percent of these deaths will occur among people in the developing world. 14 Fortunately, in Australia the prevalence of tobacco smoking has decreased. The proportion of people aged 14 years and over smoking tobacco daily in 2010 was 15.1%, down 16.6% from 3 years previously. 1 While rates remain much higher in the indigenous population than in the rest of the Australian population, the first statistically significant decline in smoking rates for Indigenous Australians was seen between 2002 and 2008, from 53% to about 50% respectively. 2 Australia is a signatory to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, a worldwide effort to control the effects of tobacco smoking on human health. 15 The framework is the world's first public health treaty and commits governments to enacting a minimum set of policies, which are proved to curb tobacco use. These include bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, clear warning labels, smoke free policies, higher prices and taxes on tobacco products and access to, and availability of, smoking cessation services. It also encourages international cooperation in dealing with cigarette smuggling and cross border advertising. As a result of changes in public policy and changing community attitudes to tobacco, the status of tobacco smoking is gradually shifting from a socially acceptable behaviour to an antisocial one. 16 With the advent of national tobacco control policies and programs, the prevalence of smoking in Australia is among the lowest of any nation. 17 While Australia's level of smoking continues to fall and is the third lowest for OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries, 18 Indigenous Australians are still more than twice as likely as non-Indigenous Australians to be current daily smokers. 2 The importance of smoking cessation was reinforced in the report of the National Preventative Health Taskforce, which stated that the evidence for interventions to reduce smoking is strong and has accumulated over many years. The report made several key recommendations on improving advice from health professionals, including ensuring all smokers in contact with health services are routinely asked about their smoking status and supported to quit. 19 National Preventative Health Taskforce. Key action area 6: Tobacco control 19 Ensure all smokers in contact with health services are encouraged and supported to quit, with particular efforts to reach pregnant women and those with chronic health problems. Ensure all state or territory funded healthcare services (general, maternity and psychiatric) are smoke free and protecting staff, patients and visitors from exposure to secondhand smoke, both indoors and on facility grounds.