More Options Than Ever to Quit Smoking
According to the American Dental Association, an updated clinical practice guideline on smoking cessation was recently released by the U.S. Public Health Service. The new guideline identifies new counseling and medication treatments that are effective in helping people to quit smoking.
A 24-member, private-sector panel of leading national tobacco treatment experts developed the new guideline. Their information was gathered from more than 8700 research articles that were published between 1975 and 2007. They have found that seven medications approved by the Food and Drug Administration have dramatically increased the success of quitting:
bupropion SR
nicotine gum
nicotine inhaler
nicotine lozenge
nicotine nasal spray
nicotine patch
varenicline
There was also evidence that counseling by itself or in conjunction with medication can increase the success rate. One of the most popular forms of counseling is through a quitline, such as 800-QUIT-NOW. It connects callers to programs within their state, and is easy for doctors and patients to access.
Dr. K. Vendrell Rankin, a professor at Baylor College of Dentistry, served as a reviewer for the guideline. “As a dentist, teacher and tobacco treatment specialist, I believe that one of the most significant additions are the principles of motivational interviewing—express empathy, develop discrepancy, roll with resistance and support self-efficacy,” said Dr. Rankin. “We know that patients don’t walk into the dental office ready to quit smoking or chewing tobacco, nor are they equipped to do so with only the aid of a prescription.” Dr. Rankin also expresses the importance of motivating, not lecturing, the patient who may want to quit smoking.
Other recommendations include:
Dentists and doctors should be asking their patients of they smoke and offering counseling and other treatments to help them quit.
If a patient is not ready to quit, clinicians should focus on motivational treatments that will promote future attempts to quit.
Counseling, whether it is individual, group, or over the telephone is effective, and should include practical counseling and social support.
Counseling treatments are now recommended for adolescent smokers as they have been shown to be effective.
The 2008 PHS guideline update and a consumer guide are available online at www.surgeongeneral.gov/tobacco/default.htm. You can also request a copy of the 2008 PHS guideline update by calling the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality at 1-800-358-9295. To find out more about the latest resources for tobacco cessation, log on to www.ada.org/goto/quitsmoking.
Dr. Moulton’s article was published in the Desert Valley Times, August 2008.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 at 6:03 pm and is filed under Dentistry. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.