Great American Smokeout presents opportunity for tobacco cessation education

posted 11.09.12

On Thursday, Nov. 15, health care stakeholders from around the country will recognize the Great American Smokeout, a day of awareness and action that challenges people to stop using tobacco and informs them of the available tools to help them quit. The American Cancer Society designates the third Thursday of November as the Great American Smokeout and encourages people to use the day to make a plan to quit, or plan in advance and quit smoking that day.

AAFP provides resources that family physicians can use to start a tobacco cessation discussion with their patients. Resources available through the Ask and Act tobacco cessation program include a toolkit and office resources. The toolkit provides a coding reference for tobacco cessation counseling, a guide to integrating tobacco cessation into your electronic medical record, a guide to tobacco cessation group visits, a pharmacologic product guide for various tobacco cessation medications, Quitline referral cards, posters, and PowerPoint presentations. Additional patient education materials are available on FamilyDoctor.org.

The national Academy also sponsors the Tar Wars educational initiative for elementary school students. Family physicians and other health professionals can volunteer to visit fourth- and fifth-grade classrooms to present tobacco-free curriculum provided through Tar Wars and encourage these young students to stay tobacco free. For more information, go to www.tarwars.org.