In The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, the newest Lancet specialty journal, Professsor Nancy Rigotti of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, in Boston, USA, reviews the evidence for different methods of smoking cessation, with a special focus on patients with respiratory disease, who can find it especially difficult to quit, having usually smoked more frequently and for longer. 

Evidence suggests that incorporating psychological counselling with a pharmacological treatment, such as nicotine replacement therapy or anti-smoking medication is the most effective way for most smokers to quit.

While research is underway into how existing anti-smoking treatments can be improved and take-up of treatment can be increased, Professor Rigotti points out that existing smoking cessation counselling and drugs are among the most cost-effective clinical preventive services available, and incorporating this treatment into routine clinical practice will be essential if treatment uptake is to be increased.

According to Professor Rigotti, “Physicians and the health-care systems in which they work must incorporate tobacco cessation treatment into standard practice. By doing so, they can contribute to a reduction of population smoking rates and the enormous toll of tobacco on health.”

Source: The Lancet