“Brief interventions for tobacco cessation: A toolkit for pharmacists” is published by the FIP today.

Pharmacy-led tobacco cessation interventions refer to pharmacists assisting patients who want to quit tobacco use. These can range from brief advice to more intensive services, depending on the needs and preferences of the patient. Brief interventions are recognised by the World Health Organization as one of the effective measures to help people quit tobacco use. The toolkit describes intervention (advice) models for “very brief advice”, for people who are ready to quit tobacco use (the 5As model), and for those who are not ready to quit (the 5Rs model). “These are the latest evidence-based practices and techniques that pharmacists can use to help people break their addiction. Pharmacists are encouraged to integrate tobacco cessation brief interventions into their routine practice, ensuring that tobacco cessation services are part of broader healthcare efforts to combat non-communicable diseases. By equipping pharmacists with the knowledge and skills needed to provide effective tobacco brief interventions, this toolkit serves as a vital resource for improving the health and well-being of communities worldwide, and for alleviating the burden of tobacco-related diseases on healthcare systems,” said Inês Nunes da Cunha, FIP Practice Development and Transformation Projects Manager, and author of the publication.