Smoking Cessation ABC
From July this year, the Minister of Health will be introducing the 'Better Help for Smokers to Quit' health target into the primary care sector. The goal is to see 90% of smokers consistently offered brief advice and support to quit by their local health practitioner.
This is not just a box-ticking exercise, it is about saving lives. In each practice, the vast majority of patients who smoke wish they didn't, and want help to quit. They just don't know how and many aren't convinced it's possible.
With the aim for New Zealand to become smokefree in 2025, this is a vital step in achieving its success. Over the last few years, we have seen a sustained increase in calls to Quitline and in 2007 there was a two percent reduction in smoking in a 12 month period, equating to 60,000 fewer smokers. As a result of the health target, the total number of hospitalised patients who received brief advice in the first year alone was 45,000. For the first nine months of the 2010/11 year over 68,000 people were provided with brief advice. Even the briefest interaction can make a difference.
Smoking is the single greatest preventable risk to your patient's well being and there are many other health issues that are symptomatic of tobacco use.
It's as simple as ABC
Ask about their smoking status, if they smoke give them Brief advice to quit and offer to issue a script for nicotine replacement therapy and refer them to a local or national Cessation service such as Quitline or Aukati Kaipaipa. It makes a difference.
We know that even a 30 second ABC intervention is enough to prompt people to quit smoking. In fact, one in every forty people will quit for good just because you give them brief advice.
There are plenty of resources available to help you initiate conversations with patients and offer cessation support. Check out the Ministry of Health's online e-learning tool for the ABC approach
And for clients we have also recently created a YouTube video with Dr Hayden McRobbie demonstrating how to use nicotine therapies correctly (go to You Tube and just search "Hayden NRT," it's top of the list).
We have also made it easier to access nicotine therapies by increasing the range of pharmacotherapies available and making subsidised NRT available on prescription. We're also adding a number of key message sheets and guides to the HIIRC website to help make starting the conversations with patients easier.
Check out the resources and let us know if there's anything else that would help. Apart from that, be bold and have a go. You might be surprised at how relieved your patients are to have someone offer to help them with their smoking addiction. Drop us a line anytime at Danielle_Crooks@moh.govt.nz
Karen Evison
National Programme Manager
Ministry of Health