SMOKED: A pharmacist-monitored tobacco cessation program

Abstract

Tobacco users use an array of pharmaceutical aids in their quest to become tobacco free. Tobacco cessation aids are indicated to assist individuals to become tobacco free when used in conjunction with a behavior modification program. For many persons, attending traditional group behavioral modification classes of 1- to 2-hour weekly meetings for 4 to 6 weeks is either undesirable or impractical. This article describes a nontraditional tobacco cessation program offered by a pharmacist at a Coast Guard military treatment facility. The program required persons desiring tobacco cessation aids to see a medical provider who then referred the individual to the pharmacy officer for counseling. Of the 20 persons completing all designated counseling sessions with the pharmacy officer, 4 were tobacco free after 1 year.