Pharmacy smoking push
August 2, 2013
THE Pharmacy Guild says that
Australia’s community pharmacies
“stand ready to help smokers quit
their expensive and deadly habit,”
with a suggestion that some of the
increased tobacco excise announced
by the government yesterday should
be directed to “smoker patient
pharmacy support programs”.
Guild President Kos Sclavos said
that “probably less than 1 per cent”
of the estimated $5.3 billion in
extra revenue - that would equate
to say $50 million - would make a
huge difference to outcomes.
“Any increase in the tobacco excise
is an important part of the armoury
of reducing smoking,” he said.
“However to be fully effective,
it must be accompanied by a
comprehensive and systemised
approach to supporting patients
overcome this deadly addiction.
“Community pharmacies are well
equipped to help smokers take that
beneficial step,” Sclavos said, with
pharmacists and pharmacy staff
already “working very day at the
coal face of smoking cessation”.
He said that community
pharmacies are so often the first
point of call for Australians wanting
to discuss a variety of health issues,
making them ideally placed to
“instil the initial motivation to quit
smoking.”
A systematic approach would
include quit management plans,
health promotion services, ongoing
advice and support, triage and
referral services.
“The Guild has been a
longstanding advocate approach
of this active quitting approach for
many years and stands ready to roll
out such a systemised approach
working in collaboration with other
health professionals including GPs”.
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