Smoking cessation is a tough mission to be gone through. However, there are many benefits of stopping smoking for long term health benefits, including reduced cumulative risk for cancer, especially for lung cancer. So, we need the smoking cessation intervention to quit smoking effectively to reduce the risk of smoking-related disease.
Initially, we need to recognize the complexity of tobacco use which included the nicotine addiction with the interplay of social, psychological and biological factors. These factors should be paid attention during smoking cessation. Health care providers play the important role to assist the smokers to quit from smoking by providing both quitting aids and advices on health-related issues.
During the time I was finding the information about how to quit smoking effectively and doing the cancer research, I foundClinical Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Tobacco Use and Dependencewhich was provided by the US Public Health Service to assist health care providers when delivering the cessation treatment. This should be a good guideline for the smokers to quit from smoking too. The guideline is produced based on a systematic research and analysis of scientific literature to assist health care providers in delivering smoking cessation treatment.
5 A's for Smoking Cessation Intervention
1. Ask about tobacco use
For a health care provider, you may ask and record the tobacco use status for the patient at every visit. For the smoker, you must record the frequency of tobacco use daily.
2. Advise to quit
For a health care provider, you may encourage the patient to quit in a clear, strong and determined manner. For the smoker, you have to motivate yourself to quit from smoking strongly. What can you do? You may keep on reminding yourself about the disadvantages of smoking.
3. Assess readiness to quit
For a health care provider, you may find out whether the patient is ready in the next 30 days. For the smoker, just prepare yourself to quit from smoking including the psychological and physical preparation.
4. Assist with quitting
For a health care provider, you may provide the counselling or pharmacotherapy to assist the patient quit smoking effectively. For the smoker, try to ask for the health care provider's help to enhance the effectiveness of smoking cessation. The support of family members is always the main inspiration and energy source for the smoker to successfully quitting smoking.
5. Arrange follow up
For a health care provider, you must make an appointment with the patient to follow up the smoking cessation status. Preferably, the health care provider may set up a schedule to follow up with the patient start from the first week of quitting. For the smoker, you may jot down the date you start quitting. You may motivate yourself by counting the number of the day you live without the tobacco. You will start to feel impress with your determination to quit from smoking then. And this is the time I wish to say congratulation to you! You are awesome!
In conclusion, smoking cessation intervention has successfully helped many of smokers who wish to quit from smoking. By looking on the evidence of adverse impact of smoking which harms nearly every organ in our body, it is the time to encourage yourself and your beloved to stop smoking.
Do you have any success story of smoking cessation? Come and share with us.
