Promoting hospital-based smoking cessation services at major Swiss hospitals: a before and after study.

Questions Under Study: Whether a 1-year nationwide, government supported programme is effective in significantly increasing the number of smoking cessation clinics at major Swiss hospitals as well as providing basic training for the staff running them.

Methods: We conducted a baseline evaluation of hospital services for smoking cessation, hypertension, and obesity by web search and telephone contact followed by personal visits between October 2005 and January 2006 of 44 major public hospitals in the 26 cantons of Switzerland; we compared the number of active smoking cessation services and trained personnel between baseline to 1 year after starting the programme including a training workshop for doctors and nurses from all hospitals as well as two further follow-up visits.

Results: At base line 9 (21%) hospitals had active smoking cessation services, whereas 43 (98%) and 42 (96%) offered medical services for hypertension and obesity respectively.