Key points of the Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence guidelines
| Tobacco dependence is a chronic condition that warrants repeated treatment until long-term or permanent abstinence is achieved |
| Effective treatments for tobacco dependence exist and all tobacco users should be offered these treatments |
| Clinicians and healthcare delivery systems must institutionalise the consistent identification, documentation and treatment of every tobacco user at every visit |
| Brief tobacco dependence intervention is effective and every tobacco user should be offered at least brief intervention |
| There is a strong dose-response relationship between the intensity of tobacco dependence counselling and its effectiveness |
| Three types of counselling were found to be especially effective: practical counselling, social support as part of treatment and social support arranged outside treatment |
| Five first-line pharmacotherapies for tobacco dependence are effective: bupropion SR, nicotine gum, nicotine inhaler, nicotine nasal spray and nicotine patch, and at least one of these medications should be prescribed in the absence of contraindications |
| Tobacco-dependence treatments are cost effective relative to other medical and disease prevention interventions |