Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable disease, disability and death in the United States. To help you help your patients quit tobacco, we have created a new Tobacco Cessation Information and Resources microsite with recommendations, requirements and resources on the following topics:
- Identifying patients who use or have used tobacco covers guidelines for identifying and documenting tobacco use—the first key step in helping people quit.
- Treating patients who use tobacco covers counseling, treatment and other resources that can help your patients quit, like quit lines and mobile apps.
- Vulnerable populations covers clinical recommendations and guidelines for tobacco use and prevention in children, adolescents and pregnant people. It also highlights resources that can help your adolescent patients quit.
- Provider education and training covers clinical guidelines, toolkits and ongoing trainings for continuing medical education credit (CME/CE). These resources are designed to help you deliver and support effective treatments for tobacco use.
Social determinants of health play a significant part in tobacco-use related disparities. As a result, some vulnerable communities experience higher rates of tobacco use and tobacco-related health disparities. For example:
- People living in poverty and adults with lower levels of education smoke cigarettes at a higher rate than the general population.
- There is often a higher density of tobacco retailers located in low-socioeconomic areas, low-income African American communities and communities with more LGBTQIA+ couples.
Appropriately diagnosing tobacco use, documenting it in medical records and offering tobacco cessation interventions will enable us to work together to effectively reduce tobacco use and improve health outcomes.