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- Ask all patients about tobacco use including chew and ask directly
if they are ready to quit
- If the answer is no, inform them that there is help
available when they decide to quit and let them know it is never
too late to quit, with increased health benefits even for long-time
smokers
- If they are ready to quit, provide positive reinforcement; offer
them referral to smoking cessation resources and ask them to pick
a concrete quit date
- Half of all adult smoker eventually quit smoking and your patient
can also (let your patients know this).
- Follow up!! If you see the patient back, ask if they are ready
to or have made attempts to quit smoking
- Most providers find this takes no more than 2 minutes
CDC. Guidelines
for school health programs to prevent tobacco use and addiction. MMWR
43(RR-2), 1994
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