Dr Kola Tytler MBBS CertHE MBA MSt MRCGPClinical Lead • iatroX
Smoking cessation strategies in primary care include:
- Offering advice and support to all people who smoke to stop, including referral to local NHS stop smoking services or providing information on how to access these services NICE CKS.
- Encouraging people who are more dependent on nicotine to attend smoking cessation services, as they may need higher support, medication doses, and multiple attempts NICE CKS.
- Providing evidence-based interventions such as behavioral support (individual and group), advice on stop smoking treatments (NRT, cytisinicline, varenicline, bupropion), and e-cigarettes NICE CKS.
- Using behavioral support techniques like individual counseling, group counseling, and adjunctive counseling by health professionals to increase cessation rates NICE CKS.
- Follow-up visits with repeat support to improve long-term abstinence, especially in the first few weeks after quitting NICE CKS.
- Monitoring CO levels as a motivational behavioral support technique NICE CKS.
Pharmacotherapy options in primary care include:
- Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT), varenicline, and bupropion, which are effective and more successful than placebo at maintaining abstinence for at least 6 months NICE CKS.
- Offering NRT, including patches, lozenges, mouth sprays, and combination NRT (patch plus short-acting forms), tailored to individual preferences and nicotine dependence levels NICE CKS.
- Starting NRT on the quit date, with sufficient supply for at least 2 weeks after the quit date NICE CKS.
- Providing behavioral support alongside pharmacotherapy to increase success rates NICE CKS.