Do hospitals do enough to help smokers quit?
Key points
- Nearly every smoker hospitalized in the United States is given advice or counseling on how to quit, according to a new study of hospital records.
- But that finding belies what researchers consider a failed attempt, initiated nine years ago, at getting hospitals to actually help people stop smoking.
- "There was no requirement, other than a box to check off that any substantive counseling was given to help smokers to quit," Dr.
- In 2002, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and The Joint Commission, which sets hospital standards, required that smokers discharged after having pneumonia, heart attack or heart failure be given quitting advice.
Nearly every smoker hospitalized in the United States is given advice or counseling on how to quit, according to a new study of hospital records.
But that finding belies what researchers consider a failed attempt, initiated nine years ago, at getting hospitals to actually help people stop smoking. The next version of the program needs to do better, experts say.
"There was no requirement, other than a box to check off that any substantive counseling was given to help smokers to quit," Dr. Michael Fiore, director of the Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention at the University of Wisconsin, told Reuters Health. He was not involved in the current study but chairs a panel working to revise the hospital rules on smokers.
In 2002, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and The Joint Commission, which sets hospital standards, required that smokers discharged after having pneumonia, heart attack or heart failure be given quitting advice.
It was almost too simple a request, said Douglas Levy, lead author of the new study and a professor at Harvard Medical School and the Mongan Institute for Health Policy at Massachusetts General Hospital.
"There are anecdotal reports of hospitals putting a postcard in the patient's room saying, 'you should quit smoking' and checking off the box that they've provided smoking cessation advice or counseling," Levy told Reuters Health.
What do I need to know about quitting? The US Surgeon General has said, "Smoking cessation (stopping smoking) represents the single most important step that smokers can take to enhance the length and quality of their lives."
Quitting smoking is not easy, but you can do it. To have the best chance of quitting and staying quit, you need to know what you’re up against, what your options are, and where to go for help. You'll find this information here.
Levy and his colleagues collected information from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on how often hospitals provided quitting advice to patients.
Their study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, shows how readily hospitals adopted the new measure.
In 2002, just 67 percent of smokers hospitalized because of a heart attack received advice on quitting smoking.
By 2008, that number jumped to 99 percent of heart attack patients.
How to quit Smokers often say, "Don't tell me why to quit, tell me how." There is no one right way to quit, but there are some key elements in quitting with success. These 4 factors are key:
- Making the decision to quit
- Setting a quit date and choosing a quit plan
- Dealing with withdrawal
- Staying quit (maintenance)
Written and revised by
Andrey Nailor, M.D.
Our doctors write and review articles for accuracy and keep them up to date.
health.am provides general information, not medical advice. Always consult a qualified health professional about your own health.
