ABSTRACT
To determine the perception and perceived barriers in conducting the smoking cessation counseling among the community pharmacists in Shah Alam, Malaysia. In this cross-sectional survey, 110 respondents were conveniently recruited by using self-administered pre-validated questionnaire. Majority of participants were females (60%) and Chinese (56.7%). Most of the enrolled pharmacists (97.6%) were the Certified Smoking Cessation Service Provider (CSCSP). 65.5% of the pharmacists emphasized the needs of patients’ counseling on smoking cessation. The main recorded barriers faced by community pharmacists were the lack of knowledge and training (58.9%), reluctance behavioral changes (57.8%), and lack of time for counseling (55.5%). There was no statistical significant was observed between socio-demographics with the perceived barriers. The full benefits of the effective counseling cannot be achieved because of perceived barriers. Therefore, the future efforts will have to be intensified to ensure effective smoking cessation sessions between smokers and community pharmacists.
