Smokefree

Tobacco smoking is a major public health problem in New Zealand. About 23 percent of the Waikato population smoke tobacco (2006 Census data).

Stopping smoking confers immediate health benefits on those who already have smoking related diseases and future benefits on all smokers.

Helping people who smoke stop is one of six Ministry of Health national health targets - Better help for smokers to quit – 90% of inpatient who smoke offered interventions by July 2011 and 95% by July 2012.

Smokefree environments

Turning Point

Issue 1 - Helping people stop smoking

All health care workers, regardless of their location, specialty or seniority, have a duty of care to help people who want to stop smoking.

Routine use of nicotine replacement therapy in acute care for management of tobacco withdrawal is expected as good clinical practice.

Hospital environment is an ideal opportunity to offer advice and help.

Helping patients who smoke and preventing withdrawal symptoms

Smoking affects the health and recovery of people who smoke and might very well be the reason they are in hospital. Most patients who smoke will benefit more from their stay in hospital if we treat them adequately with nicotine replacement and offer a referral to community based cessation services.

People who smoke may consider continuing to be smokefree when they go home if they have had a good smokefree experience in hospital.

It’s as simple as ABC

All you have to do is:

ask every patient about smoking status
give brief advice about benefits of quitting and chart nicotine replacement
offer referral to cessation support

Document you’ve done all three on the patient notes. Easy!

Ask about the pink elephant If patients want cessation support at home after discharge fax a referral to (07) 839 8770.

Smoking cessation services available to all people who smoke:

e-learning tools

www.smokingcessationabc.org.nz

In the news

Five Midland DHBs work together to be Smokefree / tobacco free by 2025

Give yourself a pay-rise in 2012 by stopping smoking

There’s never been a better time to quit. Get ahead and beat the tax rises by quitting smoking.

Every year thousands of kiwis escape their working lives for a few weeks of summer, beaches, family, friends and food, and of course the time-honoured tradition of New Year’s resolutions.

Many New Zealanders can also begin to feel the pinch in their wallets as bills begin to fall due – sadly, at just about the same time those holiday memories have now begun to fade.

There is one piece of good news for the smokers out there though – you alone have a unique way of giving yourselves a pay rise just at the time you need it most. As Kate Dallas of Waikato DHB explains,

“It can be a really tough season for many families – coming back to work, arranging care for the kids and trying to manage the bills on the other side of Christmas.

“It’s exactly this sort of stress that often leads people to their cigarettes, but instead we’re encouraging them to use it as an opportunity to quit smoking, give themselves a pay rise and add another 15 years to their lives,” Kate adds.

And there’s plenty of help available. Anyone wishing to quit smoking can contact free support services such as Quitline or ring 0800 542 584 (kick the habit) for local services such as Aukati Kai Paipa. They can also access subsidised patches, gum or lozenges through any of these services or their own GP, Pharmacist or community health worker/ nurse

“With the third tax increase in 18 months, it’s a great time to quit. If you smoke a pack a day, that’s around $100 a week, $500 a month, and $5000 a year. You could take a family of four to Fiji and back on that!” Kate adds.

Kate encourages anyone wanting to Quit to talk with their community doctor or nurse, or contact one of the support services on: 0800 542 584

“Smoking is more expensive than it’s ever been, but there’s also more free support than ever before too – it’s a perfect time to quit. Pick up the phone, the numbers on your cigarette packet.”