Approaches to Smoking Cessation
Okelue Edwards Okobi *
Larkin Community Hospital, Palms Spring, Miami, FL, USA.
Mujeeb Adedeji Salawu
Houston Health Department, Houston, TX, United States.
Elham Nikravesh
Guilan University of Medical Science, Rasht, Guilan, Iran.
Ifunanya Vera Umeozor
Lulu Briggs Health Center, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.
Ibilola Akorede Sanusi
Department Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, UT Health Houston, Houston, Texas, USA.
Soji A. Ojo
UT Health Science Center, Houston, USA.
Ijeoma Oaikhena
Department of Health Sciences, Sault College, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada.
Esther Ifeoma Ezeani
Indiana Regional Medical Center (IRMC), Indiana, Pennsylvania, USA.
Precious Anastasia Uzoh
Senators Health Center Family Practice, Glace Bay, NSH Authority, NS, Canada.
Chioma Celestina Umeh
Medigroup Health Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Eyitope Olaide Awoyemi
Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria.
Emeka Kenneth Okobi
Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria.
Endurance O. Evbayekha
St. Luke's Hospital in Chesterfield, Missouri, USA.
Tobechukwu J. Okobi
Bronx Care Hospital, New York, USA.
Victor Ameh Odoma
IU Health, Bloomington, Indiana, USA.
Ijeoma C. Izundu
University of Toronto, Southlake Regional Medical Center, Ontario, Canada.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Smoking cessation is a critical public health issue. Smoking cessation techniques are essential in reducing the burden of tobacco-related diseases and deaths. Medical practitioners have the potential to assist patients in quitting smoking, but deficits exist in the amount and type of training received in smoking cessation counseling.
Smoking cessation is not a single event but a process that involves a change in a person's lifestyle, values, social circles, thinking and feeling patterns, and coping skills. Overcoming the hurdles associated with smoking cessation can increase an individual's self-efficacy in their ability to succeed at their quit attempt, which in turn acts to reduce the likelihood of a relapse and increase the likelihood of long-term sustained smoking cessation. Innovative techniques of treatment are necessary to provide effective smoking cessation intervention, especially for difficult cases.
The use of pharmacotherapy, including nicotine replacement therapy and other medications, is an effective smoking cessation technique. Behavioral therapy is also a useful approach, including motivational interviewing, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and contingency management. The combination of pharmacotherapy and behavioral therapy can enhance the success rate of smoking cessation.
Keywords: Smoking cessation, pharmacotherapy, non-pharmacotherapy, nicotine replacement therapy (NRT)