Background: With the rising interest in expanding pharmacists' role in smoking cessation, it is pertinent that community pharmacists be equipped with up-to-date knowledge and competence to provide optimal therapeutic services that meet the demands of various presenting subsets of smokers.
Objective: To investigate and evaluate responses to requests of quitting smoking from 'high risk' smokers seeking assistance and treatment within the pharmacy venue.
Setting: Community pharmacies located within Sydney greater metropolitan area, New South Wales, Australia.
Method: A simulated patient methodology was utilised. Two scenarios were developed and enacted by two trained simulated patients in 100 randomly selected pharmacies. Scenario 1 involved a 28-year-old pregnant female who presents with a request for help in quitting smoking. Scenario 2 involved a 22-year-old female requesting a quit smoking product for her 55-year-old father who has cardiovascular problems. A standardised scoring key was designed to assess the performance of pharmacists during each encounter.
Main Outcome Measure: The primary outcome measure was the supply/non-supply of nicotine replacement products and the corresponding provision of counselling and advice to facilitate smoking cessation.
Results: A product(s) was supplied in 42 % of the 100 encounters, while a product was adequately suggested pending doctor's referral in 45 %. In 13 % of the cases, a product was not supplied based on inappropriate notions of nicotine replacement therapy not being safe in the presented scenario. Pharmacists performed better in dispensing scores (counselling about product use) as compared to pre-dispensing scores (eliciting patient history). ANOVA followed by regression analysis indicated that the estimated age and gender of the pharmacist/staff were significant predictors affecting total scores.
Conclusion: Whilst pharmacists' counselling about smoking cessation aids seems satisfactory, further education is required to improve practice standards in terms of matching a patient's history and smoking status to an appropriate product.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11096-014-9944-7 | DOI Listing |
Asian Pac J Cancer Prev
January 2025
Department of Dentistry, Adesh Institute of Dental Sciences And Research, Bathinda, India.
Objective: To assess the attitude and practices towards the Tobacco Cessation Counselling and Nicotine Replacement Therapy and identify the possible barriers towards the implementation of these practices amongst Private dental practitioners of North, India. Methodology: A cross sectional web based survey using 33 item pre-tested self administered questionnaire was conducted. A total of 250 valid responses were received and were available for analysis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAsian Pac J Cancer Prev
January 2025
Department of Community Oral Health and Clinical Prevention, Faculty of Dentistry, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia.
Background: The KOTAK program is a national public health initiative in Malaysian primary and secondary schools aimed at reducing youth smoking through school dental services. This study evaluated its effectiveness in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia.
Objectives: 1) To determine the percentage of schoolchildren who quit smoking through the KOTAK program; 2) To identify factors associated with quitting smoking in the program.
Background: Pulmonary Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis (PLCH) is a rare interstitial lung disease primarily affecting young to middle-aged smokers. While traditionally linked to tobacco use, there is growing evidence that cannabis use may contribute to PLCH.
Methods: We present a case of a 52-year-old male with PLCH associated with heavy cannabis use.
Tob Control
January 2025
La Trobe University Australian Research Centre in Sex Health and Society, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Background: Smoking rates have declined markedly in Australia over time; however, lesbian, bisexual and queer (LBQ) women continue to smoke at higher rates than heterosexual women. Understanding the factors influencing smoking in this population is crucial for developing targeted cessation interventions and other supports.
Methods: Experiences of and motivations for smoking among 42 LBQ cisgender and transgender women and non-binary people in Australia who currently or previously smoked were explored through semi-structured interviews.
Cochrane Database Syst Rev
January 2025
Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Background: People from lower socioeconomic groups are more likely to smoke and less likely to succeed in achieving abstinence, making tobacco smoking a leading driver of health inequalities. Contextual factors affecting subpopulations may moderate the efficacy of individual-level smoking cessation interventions. It is not known whether any intervention performs differently across socioeconomically-diverse populations and contexts.
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