Brief interventions for tobacco cessation: A toolkit for pharmacists has been published by the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) recently. Pharmacy-led tobacco cessation interventions refer to pharmacists assisting patients who want to quit tobacco use. These can range from brief advice to more intensive services, depending on the needs and preferences of the patient.
“FIP has provided several resources on the topic of tobacco cessation, but this new publication focuses on clear and practical guidance for pharmacists on how to support individuals in their efforts to quit tobacco,” said the Federation.
“Recognising the time-constraints on modern healthcare settings, the toolkit emphasises the need to provide brief yet impactful interventions to support patients on their tobacco cessation journey,” said Dr Inês Nunes da Cunha, FIP Practice Development and Transformation Projects Manager, and author of the publication. “Sixty per cent of tobacco users want to quit, but around 70 per cent of them have no access to comprehensive tobacco cessation services,” she added.
Brief interventions are recognised by the WHO as one of the effective measures to help people quit tobacco use. The toolkit describes intervention (advice) models for “very brief advice” for people who are ready to quit tobacco use (the 5As model), and for those who are not ready to quit (the 5Rs model). “These are the latest evidence-based practices and techniques that pharmacists can use to help people break their addiction. Pharmacists are encouraged to integrate tobacco cessation brief interventions into their routine practice, ensuring that tobacco cessation services are part of broader healthcare efforts to combat non-communicable diseases. “By equipping pharmacists with the knowledge and skills needed to provide effective tobacco brief interventions, this toolkit serves as a vital resource for improving the health and wellbeing of communities worldwide, and for alleviating the burden of tobacco-related diseases on healthcare systems,” Dr Nunes da Cunha said.
The toolkit is available at: https://www.fip.org/file/6106.
