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Most smokers routinely visit a range of healthcare professionals – presenting a significant opportunity for intervention and change2,4

Virtually all clinicians are in a position to intervene with patients who use tobacco.4 Consider:

  • Over 75% of smokers saw a physician in the last year
  • 60% saw a dentist or dental hygienist
  • Almost 50% saw a pharmacist

Even less than 3 minutes can help a smoker quit.4

Quick Counselling (QC) is very short advice for all patients who smoke, regardless of their current motivation level to quit.4

The 3 steps of QC: Ask, Advise, Act

  • Step 1: Ask

    Have you used any tabacco products in the past week/month/3 months?

  • Step 2: Advise

    Offer advice in an encouraging, supportive, empathetic manner

    Advise that best results typically are achieved with pharmacotherapy and suport

  • Step 3: Act

    Refer to counselling, Internet programs, telephone quit lines

    Consider nicotine replacement therapy

  • Despite clear evidence of its positive effect, only 43% of patients received advice to quit from their GP.2
    Watch a Quick Counselling tutorial
  • Adding NRT can double the chances for success over placebo (willpower alone) at 6 months6,7

Quick Counselling was proven to help smokers to quit

A physician’s advice of 3 minutes or less to quit smoking increased the likelihood of smoking cessation by 30% and abstinence by 29%.7

Meta-analysis results: Effectiveness of physician advice to quit and estimated abstinence rate7
Advice Estimated odds ratio (95% C.I.) Estimated abstinence rate (95% C.I.)
No advice to quit (reference group) 1.0 7.9
Physician advice to quit 1.3 (1.1 – 1.6) 10.2(8.5 – 12.0)

Adapted from: US Department of Health and Human Services. Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence: 2008 Update, Clinical Practice Guideline.

  • Over 40% of smokers attempt to stop in response to advice from their healthcare professional1
  • 9 out of 10 patients said that they welcomed advice from their physician on quitting smoking
a graphical representation about Successful quit rate at 12 months

Adapted from Fowler G et al., 2000.

Tips to help patients trying to quit:43 Motivational Strategies
  • Manage expectations: quitting often takes several attempts
  • Be persistent: try not to be discouraged by a relapse; use it as a learning experience for both of you
  • Make repeated contacts: every visit is an opportunity to counsel your patients
  • Help the smoker take the next step
  • Bolster self-efficacy and motivation
  • Match strategy to patient stage of change (e.g., motivating vs. creating a plan)

Get counselling tools

Motivational approaches focus on providing:

  • Appropriate empathy
  • Non-judgmental advice
  • Personalized feedback (reflected back to the patient)
  • Positive reinforcement

Motivational strategies can:

  • Support self-efficacy
  • Promote autonomy
  • Be applied when clients are unready, unwilling, or unable to quit smoking

Learn about Quitting Strategies

Why wait? Talk to your patients today about smoking. In less than 3 minutes, you can be the motivation that helps prompt them to quit. Get counselling tools

In a U.K. survey (n=264):9*
 

89% of patients liked their general practitioner (GP) asking about smoking and advising them to stop, reduce or seek help
 

59% showed a willingness to attempt change if recommended by their GP


* Survey sent to a random selection of the community, assessing attitudes towards GP detection of 4 risk behaviours, including smoking. Non-smokers were not asked about smoking interventions. Results were analyzed by the Yates’ adjusted chi-square test.

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