Pharm helps smokers quit
May 1, 2014
RECENT Australian-led research
has highlighted the role of
community pharmacy in effective
smoking cessation interventions.
Published in the June 2014 issue
of Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and
Therapeutics, the meta-analysis
drew on data from 1,168 articles
and five studies, involving a total of
1,426 smokers.
Pharmacist interventions
showed better abstinence rates as
compared with controls, leading
the authors from the University of
Sydney and Naresuan University
in Thailand to conclude that
health policy makers should
direct incentives to community
pharmacists to provide these
services.
Pharmacy Guild of Australia
executive director David Quilty said
in forefront that this was a similar
set of results to previous research
the Guild has reported on.
“Governments in a number of
countries including New Zealand,
the United Kingdom and Canada
currently fund pharmacist-led
smoking cessation services.
“However, in Australia there
is little or no funding to support
community pharmacies to provide
counselling and advice to assist
smokers to quit.”
With nicotine addiction
responsible for eight percent of
the total health burden in Australia
and as the nation’s most expensive
lifestyle-related health condition,
Quilty said it was “indisputable”
that funding community pharmacy
smoking cessation services would
be offset by reduced costs across
the wider health system from
increased smoking abstinence
rates.
Australian Association of Smoking
Cessation Professionals (AASCP)
vice president Dr Colin Mendelsohn
said the paper was the first analysis
to show that smoking cessation
counselling in the community
pharmacy setting was effective.
Up until now there had been very
little research to make any firm
conclusions, he said.
“AASCP strongly supports trained
pharmacy staff providing a smoking
cessation service.”
The Department of Health had
not replied at time of writing to
queries about whether funding
for smoking cessation services in
community pharmacy would be
considered.
To read the study, CLICK HERE.
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