Summary of the relevant issues for smoking cessation in patients with asthma
| Smoking rate among asthma patients is similar to the general population |
| Smoking has detrimental effects on asthma |
| Greater decline in forced expiratory volume in 1 s |
| Lack of response to medications (bronchodilator drugs and inhaled corticosteroids) |
| Increased need for use of concomitant medications |
| Asthma patients who smoke can suffer from higher nicotine dependence and are less likely to attend education programmes |
| Counselling and use of pharmacological treatments is a good approach for smoking cessation in asthma patients; nevertheless, there is a lack of smoking cessation trials in these patients |