Supporting customers with tobacco harm reduction
Supporting customers with tobacco harm reduction
The latest NICE guidance details recommendations for healthcare professionals that you can put into practice in your consultations with customers:13
Inform people who smoke that a range of interventions is available to help them stop smoking.
Explain how to access them and refer people to stop-smoking support if appropriate.
Ensure the following are accessible to adults who smoke:
- Behavioural interventions (see below)
- Stop smoking medications such as NRT
- Nicotine-containing e-cigarettes
Advise that stop smoking medication and e-cigarettes, when combined with behavioural support as detailed below, are more likely to result in them successfully stopping smoking.
Provide accurate and up-to-date information on e-cigarettes.
Behavioural interventions recommended by NICE should include:
- Very brief advice
- Behavioural support
Click on each of the headings below to find out more about each of these.
Very brief advice can be used opportunistically in almost any consultation with a person who smokes. There are three elements to providing very brief advice:
- ASK – assess current and past smoking behaviour
- ADVISE – provide information on consequences of smoking and smoking cessation
- ACT – offer support such as information on stop smoking medications and e-cigarettes and provide options for later or additional support
Behavioural support can be provided either individually or in a group. It involves a conversation between a person who smokes and a counsellor trained to provide stop-smoking support. Discussions may include withdrawal symptoms, practical advice about goal setting, self-monitoring and dealing with the barriers to stopping smoking, as well as encouragement. The support also includes anticipating and dealing with the challenges of stopping smoking. It is typically offered weekly for at least the first 4 weeks of a quit attempt.
Category information presented so far is related to the e-cigarette catefory but shouldn't be tied specifically to individual brands like JUUL.