To help you help your patients kick the tobacco habit, the Academy is launching the project Ask and Act. This initiative will give you and your staff resources so you can quickly and easily encourage your patients to stop using tobacco.
Initiative Challenges FPs to Ask, Act on Patients' Tobacco Use
By Jane Stoever
10/26/2005
"Studies have shown that just having a physician say, 'You need to quit,' is very powerful," says Julie Wood, M.D., of Lee's Summit, Mo., chair of the Tobacco Cessation Advisory Committee and a member of the Commission on Health of the Public, formerly the Commission on Public Health.
"In surveys (of physicians), about 70 percent of respondents said they asked their patients about tobacco use, and about 40 percent of respondents said they took further action to help those who used tobacco," said Wood. "Our goal is to have 100 percent of family physicians ask their patients about tobacco use and then act to help them stop using it."
The Commission on Public Health convened a Tobacco Cessation Summit in March and outlined parameters for Ask and Act. Recently, the Smoking Cessation Leadership Center at the University of California, San Francisco, a program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, awarded a $147,226 grant for the initiative. The funds will help the Academy produce CME and an online toolkit with resources such as
"In surveys (of physicians), about 70 percent of respondents said they asked their patients about tobacco use, and about 40 percent of respondents said they took further action to help those who used tobacco," said Wood. "Our goal is to have 100 percent of family physicians ask their patients about tobacco use and then act to help them stop using it."
The Commission on Public Health convened a Tobacco Cessation Summit in March and outlined parameters for Ask and Act. Recently, the Smoking Cessation Leadership Center at the University of California, San Francisco, a program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, awarded a $147,226 grant for the initiative. The funds will help the Academy produce CME and an online toolkit with resources such as
- quitline wallet cards,
- patient education materials and
- information on physician payment for tobacco cessation counseling.
The materials -- some new and some obtained from other sources -- will be posted online for practices, residencies, family medicine departments and AAFP constituent chapters to download during the next few months.
The (800) QUIT-NOW cards -- (800) 784-8669 -- will also be available in plastic in bulk quantities. The cards carry the number for the National Network of Tobacco Cessation Quitlines. Callers are automatically routed to a state-run quitline or the National Cancer Institute quitline and receive immediate advice on quitting, referrals to other sources (sometimes including local sources) and an offer to have materials mailed to them. Recent research indicates, for example, that quitline use in California has helped twice as many people break the tobacco habit, compared with those relying only on self-help materials.
"I just recently started advising people to use the quitline," said Wood. "They've liked the idea that they could call it on their own time, when they decided they were ready to quit. Also, I always say I'm there to support them in their cessation efforts. It's important for us as family physicians to continue to follow up and encourage them."
Health insurers and quality-of-care regulators want to confirm that physicians are trying to help patients break free from tobacco, said Wood.
"Sometimes you feel frustrated. You want to try to stop people from using tobacco, but you don't always have the resources or time to do it effectively," said Wood. "This project will offer tools for the family physician and medical office staff and will get residencies and medical students involved."
If you have questions about Ask and Act, e-mail Mary Theobald at mtheobal@aafp.org.
The (800) QUIT-NOW cards -- (800) 784-8669 -- will also be available in plastic in bulk quantities. The cards carry the number for the National Network of Tobacco Cessation Quitlines. Callers are automatically routed to a state-run quitline or the National Cancer Institute quitline and receive immediate advice on quitting, referrals to other sources (sometimes including local sources) and an offer to have materials mailed to them. Recent research indicates, for example, that quitline use in California has helped twice as many people break the tobacco habit, compared with those relying only on self-help materials.
"I just recently started advising people to use the quitline," said Wood. "They've liked the idea that they could call it on their own time, when they decided they were ready to quit. Also, I always say I'm there to support them in their cessation efforts. It's important for us as family physicians to continue to follow up and encourage them."
Health insurers and quality-of-care regulators want to confirm that physicians are trying to help patients break free from tobacco, said Wood.
"Sometimes you feel frustrated. You want to try to stop people from using tobacco, but you don't always have the resources or time to do it effectively," said Wood. "This project will offer tools for the family physician and medical office staff and will get residencies and medical students involved."
If you have questions about Ask and Act, e-mail Mary Theobald at mtheobal@aafp.org.
