Tobacco Cessation: Someone Else is Doing it, Right?

1. Poor Management of This Continued Public Health Problem

The focus of this chapter is to highlight disparities in addressing tobacco cessation. Specific patient populations have higher rates of tobacco use, fewer quit attempts, and lower rates of successful cessation. By recognizing at-risk populations, the clinician will identify more opportunities to engage in addressing tobacco use status and cessation during clinical interaction.

2. The Impacts of Tobacco Use on Body Systems and Health

Personalizing education regarding tobacco use improves the chances of successful cessation. This chapter will highlight the negative effects of tobacco use and describe the benefits of cessation on health, mortality, and patient outcomes. Understanding tobacco’s impact on body systems will improve the ability to personalize clinician advice.

3. Approaching Tobacco Cessation in the Clinical Setting

This chapter will introduce the clinician to the “5 As” approach for addressing tobacco use and cessation: Ask, Advise, Assess, Assist, and Arrange. Using the 5 A’s framework will help the clinician apply a proven methodology for addressing cessation. Patient simulation will be utilized to model aspects of the 5 A’s into clinical care.

4. Common Obstacles: Patient Motivation, Roadblocks, Withdrawal, and Relapse

Understanding barriers to quitting and preventing relapse is an important aspect of supporting tobacco cessation. This chapter will describe common roadblocks and barriers, physiological and psychological effects of withdrawal, and provide an approach to predicting and preventing relapse. Patient simulation will be utilized to model ways to discuss barriers, withdrawal, and relapse, empowering the clinician to address these difficult aspects of tobacco cessation.

5. Q&A

This is a question and answer session with Ellen, a first year physical therapy student, about the topic of tobacco use and her school curriculum.