Open AccessTreating Tobacco Dependence in a Medical Setting
Author(s) -
Hurt Richard D.,
Ebbert Jon O.,
Hays J. Taylor,
McFadden David D.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
ca: a cancer journal for clinicians
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 62.937
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1542-4863
pISSN - 0007-9235
DOI - 10.3322/caac.20031
Subject(s) - smokeless tobacco , medicine , tobacco use , guideline , psychological intervention , quitline , tobacco harm reduction , health care , family medicine , psychiatry , environmental health , intervention (counseling) , population , pathology , economic growth , economics
The US Public Health Service Guideline for Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence 2008 Update emphasizes tobacco use as a chronic medical disorder; highlights both behavioral counseling and the use of 1 or more of the 7 approved medications; and points out the utility, efficacy, and reach of telephone quitlines. The treatment of users of smokeless tobacco continues to be less than optimal. Although providing evidence‐based treatment for tobacco‐ dependent patients is a challenge for busy physicians, a team approach including trained and certified tobacco treatment specialists (TTS) provides an efficient treatment model. TTS represent a new and growing part of the health care team and hold great potential for expanding the collective tobacco treatment expertise in the medical setting. The effective treatment of tobacco dependence frequently requires tailoring, and often intensifying, interventions (both counseling and pharmacotherapy) to meet the needs of the individual patient. CA Cancer J Clin 2009;59:314–326. © 2009 American Cancer Society, Inc.