ABSTRACT
Primary care providers can greatly impact tobacco cessation attempts arid success rates, using brief, specific interventions informed by motivational interviewing strategies. Tobacco use is the unequivocal leading cause of preventable death worldwide, accounting for one in every ten adult deaths. It is a substantial risk factor for six of the eight leading causes of death, making it directly responsible for nearly 6 million deaths per year. Tobacco use disorders have a natural course of addiction that is characterized not only by physiological addiction and dependence but also by behavioural aspects. Nicotine replacement therapy has been available as a means of facilitating smoking cessation for approximately 30 years.20 It works by stimulating nicotine receptors, leading to the release of dopamine and a reduction in symptoms of nicotine withdrawal. Routine inquiry about smoking status and offering some type of evidence-supported treatment in all primary care settings is a health-care imperative.
