Effective smoking cessation counseling can be divided into practical and supportive counseling advice.
Practical counseling advice includes provision of basic information, and helping develop problem solving and coping skills. MORE
Supportive counseling consists of ways in which clinicians can best encourage, empathize and engage their patients during their quit attempt. MORE
For patients not ready to make a quit attempt at this time, clinicians should use a brief intervention designed to promote the motivation to quit. Such patients may respond to a motivational intervention that provides the clinician an opportunity to educate, reassure, and motivate such as the motivational intervention built around the "5 R's": Relevance, Risks, Rewards, Roadblocks, and Repetition. MORE
Your local Tobacco Cessation Center can provide free training on counseling and pharmacotherapy to you and your staff. The Centers can also provide information and assistance with local and state counseling resources.
*Fiore MC, Jaén CR, Baker TB, et al. Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence: 2008 Update. Clinical Practice Guideline. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Public Health Service. May 2008.