Smoking Cessation Intervention Program for Inpatients Conducted by Pharmacists

Smoking is a risk factor for pulmonary diseases,cardiovascular diseases and many other morbid conditions but it is difficult to get patients to cease smoking due to the strength of nicotine dependence.As one of our pharmaceutical management and counseling services,we conducted a smoking cessation intervention program for inpatients in which we counseled them on the proper use of nicotine replacement products using a smoking cessation guidebook,and evaluated the usefulness of such counseling.We interviewed 228 patients and from among them enrolled 18 current smokers and 11 people who had stopped smoking during the past 30 days as subjects.The content of the program was evaluated through a questionnaire survey of patients and the success of the counseling by pharmacists was evaluated by smoking cessation status at discharge.Immediately after the program,44.4% of the smokers had ceased smoking and this figure had increased to 83.3% at the time of discharge.All subjects who had stopped smoking during the past 30 days continued to refrain from smoking until discharge.The results of the questionnaire survey showed that the use of a smoking cessation guidebook in the intervention enhanced awareness of the importance of ceasing smoking in 89.7% of the subjects.Though they were frequently made aware of nicotine replacement products,only about 10% had wished to use them.The findings of the questionnaire survey suggest that our smoking cessation intervention program for inpatients involving counseling on the proper use of nicotine replacement products improved patients’awareness of the importance of smoking cessation and reduced the smoking rate.