The Singapore Family Physician

Back to issue Vol 47 No. 4 - Mental Health 2021 Update

Smoking Cessation - A Practical Paradigm for Doctors

Ong Kian Chung
The Singapore Family Physician Vol 47 No 4 - Mental Health 2021 Update
17 - 21
1 March 2021
0377-5305
Helping people to stop smoking is a highly cost-effective and an important means of preventing cardiovascular disease such as ischemic heart disease and stroke. A doctor who fails to provide smoking cessation counselling to a patient who smokes is no better than a doctor who neglects to prescribe a cholesterol – lowering drug. Many smokers want to stop smoking, and others may be receptive to encouragement to stop. As doctors, we are in a unique position to help our patients stop smoking because our advice on health matters is trusted more than anyone else’s (or so we should hope to think). This article was first published in the Singapore Family Physician in 2008, and focuses on what a doctor should do with a patient who smokes. An additional update on alternatives to cigarettes has been added.