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Doctors help even more quitters
Doctors are at the frontline in helping people quit smoking, according to the latest QUIT Evaluation Study.
The Study found that more doctors are helping their patients to quit smoking by providing information and advice about quitting. This is a significant finding as previous research has shown that not only are doctors seen as the main source of advice on quitting, but their direction to quit is often effective.
AMA Victoria Vice-President, Mukesh Haikerwal, said there is now a greater range of methods to help people quit smoking and so a greater chance that patients will find a method which suits them.
"A few years ago when a patient asked for help to quit smoking the advice we gave was quite general or we referred them to QUIT. We could tell them why it was a good idea to quit smoking but not a lot about how to go about it. Now we have a number of quitting methods to offer patients, ranging from nicotine replacement therapy and nicotine-free tablets to help-lines.
"This expanded choice has buoyed doctors’ confidence as well as that of people wanting to quit. I think doctors are probably broaching the subject of quitting more often with patients as they have something concrete to offer at the end of the consultation.
"The QUIT study shows, however, that doctors still have a number of challenges in front of them regarding smoking and their patients. Especially, the need for doctors to counsel all their patients on smoking cessation as one of the key components of their health care," Dr Haikerwal said.
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