Nurse support key factor in quit rates | nursing times

Nurse-led smoking cessation support can significantly increase the chances of patients successfully quitting, according to a Cochrane Review. US researchers studied 31 clinical trials

involving 12,000 adult smokers, comparing nursing intervention with usual care. They found 15–20% of those who received smoking cessation strategies from nurses were successful in quitting,

compared with less than 3% of those who had no intervention. Lead author Virginia Hill Rice, professor of nursing at Wayne State University nursing college in Michigan, said: ‘As people go

through withdrawal, they need guidance and continual support. As health advocates, [nurses] can have a profound effect on the reduction of tobacco use.’ Cochrane Database of Systematic

Reviews (2008): 1