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Smoking cessation - Management
How do I assess someone who smokes?
- Record the smoking status of all people of smoking age.
- Discuss conditions that are adversely affected by smoking, such as heart disease, peripheral vascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and pregnancy.
- Advise people who smoke of the benefits of quitting and ask if they want help to quit.
- Advice about the benefits of stopping should be clear, strong, and relevant to any health problems they have.
- For people who want to stop smoking:
- Ask about circumstances that could adversely affect their ability to stop smoking:
- Do they live with people who smoke?
- Are they under stress at home or work?
- Do they have any mental health problems?
- Assess their level of nicotine dependency:
- People are generally considered heavily dependent smokers if they smoke 20 cigarettes or more a day, or smoke within 30 minutes of waking.
- People are generally considered less heavily dependent smokers if they smoke less than 20 cigarettes a day and do not smoke within 30 minutes of waking.
- Assume people who are borderline to be heavily dependent for the purposes of drug treatment.
Basis for recommendation
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