General practitioners are a respected source of health information and are ideally placed to deliver smoking cessation advice to their patients. One in 33 conversations by a GP will result in a person quitting smoking.
As GPs know too well, smoking is a slow way to die; the strain put on the body by smoking often causes years of suffering. Tobacco smoke contains over 7,000 chemicals; at least 69 of these chemicals are known to cause cancer. Quitting smoking has many health and mental health benefits.
Training for general practitioners
Quit has worked with GPs to develop a 3-step model (Ask, Advise and Help) as an option to provide smoking cessation.
The Quit Education portal is available here.
How Quitline can help
You can also provide smoking cessation assistance within the time constraints of a busy practice by referring patients to Quitline.
Use the Quitline fax referral sheet or refer patients online to help support your patients to quit.
If you use Medical Director, Best Practice or ZMed, the Quitline referral template can autopopulate. You can also securely email Quitline referrals via argus.
Resources
Quit have worked with consumers and health professionals to develop a range of resources to support smoking cessation. You can order resources to use with your patients through the Quit resource order form.
- Fact sheets on tobacco use and quitting
- Stress cycle of smoking poster that you could place in your waiting room.
- Benefits of quitting poster.
- Appointment cards which have space to write three appointment times on one side and tips for managing cravings on the other.
- Motivational tools – Quit for cash postcard helps people see how much they could save. There is also a youth version.
- Information to support nicotine replacement therapy use.
- Self help material – My quit plan brochure and What I can do to stop smoking wallet card
Other tools
Tobacco in Australia: Facts and Issues is a comprehensive review of the major issues in smoking and health in Australia, compiled by the Cancer Council Victoria.
Suggested Resources
How can you help your patient: resources and training
Nursing and allied health professionals have a vital role in promoting smoking cessation. A brief intervention provided by a health professional can trigger a quit attempt.
How to help your patient quit – 3-step intervention model
Smoking is the leading cause of death and disease in Australia. Health professionals play a powerful role in encouraging and helping patients to stop smoking.