WASHINGTON – Doctors need to step up their efforts to counsel patients on smoking cessation.
That was the message from officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and primary care physicians group at a press briefing May 22.
"Every doctor can help their patients quit, and every doctor should do everything possible to help their patients quit," Dr. Tom Frieden, CDC director, said at a press conference. "Even spending 3-5 minutes on personalized, clear advice will double the likelihood that they will quit for good."
He added that talking about smoking – or about quitting – is still not a part of routine doctor visits.
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Dr. Thomas Frieden
"That extra moment can make all the difference and help them quit," agreed Surgeon General Regina Benjamin, who also spoke at the briefing.
The CDC estimates that 43 million American adults smoke, and that smoking kills about 440,000 of them each year.
Representatives of the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Physicians, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the American Medical Association, joined Dr. Frieden in urging their members and other physicians to do more.
"It’s very important for all of the medical associations to be speaking with one voice," Dr. Charles Cutler, chair of the ACP Board of Regents, said in an interview. "When we’re all saying the same thing, the message for doctors throughout America becomes more resonant."
Advertisements that are part of the CDC’s current "Tips From Former Smokers" campaignwill be tagged with a new line from May 27 through June 2. During that time, ads will say "You can quit. Talk with your doctor for help."
So far, the Tips campaign, which features individuals disfigured from a lifetime of smoking, has generated 200,000 excess calls to the 1-800-QUIT-NOW line managed by the CDC, Dr. Frieden said. The campaign is funded at about $50 million a year with money from the Public Health and Prevention Fund, which was established by the Affordable Care Act.
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Dr. Jeffrey Cain
AAFP president Jeffrey Cain said that physicians are crucial allies for patients who are trying to quit. He noted that the AAFP has several tools to help physicians counsel and care for smokers, including the "Ask and Act Practice Toolkit," and a treating tobacco dependence practice manual. "You have to make it so that tobacco is a vital sign when a patient comes in," said Dr. Cain.
The Tips campaign gives patients a critical way to start conversations about smoking, said Dr. Patrice Harris of the AMA Board of Trustees. "Physicians should talk to every patient who smokes about quitting at every office visit," she said. The AMA’s Healthier Life Steps program helps direct physicians toward resources they can share with patients, she said.
The AAP joined the effort because so many children are exposed to second-hand smoke and because very often, the smoking habit begins in adolescence, said AAP President Thomas K. McInerny. He said that many pediatricians had been remiss in either asking patients or parents about smoking, or encouraging them to quit.
"Pediatricians must intervene during a clinical encounter, yet, unfortunately, many don’t do so," he said.
ACOG president Jeanne A. Conry said that the Tips campaign would help her colleagues improve women’s health and support healthier pregnancies – but only if ob.gyns. make it a part of every visit. "If we are able to discuss tobacco use and well-woman health care with every woman at every time, we will make a difference," she said.
In an editorial published simultaneously in JAMA, Dr. Tim McAfee of the CDC Office on Smoking and Health further underlined and explained the resources available to physicians for smoking cessation counseling (2013;1-2 [doi:10.1001/jama.2013.5975]).
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Dr. Thomas McInerny
"Physicians have made major strides over the past 2 decades in helping smokers quit, but still fall short of making cessation treatment a routine part of standard care," he wrote. "By making it easier to discuss smoking, the ‘talk with your doctor’ initiative can help bring the nation a step closer to achieving the goal of substantially reducing smoking and smoking-related disease and death."
For smoking cessation counseling information and tools, visit the CDC’s Tips website.
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