Release Date: November 2003
Summary of Recommendations / Supporting Documents
Rating: A Recommendation.
Rationale: The USPSTF found good evidence that brief smoking cessation interventions, including screening, brief behavioral counseling (less than 3 minutes), and pharmacotherapy delivered in primary care settings, are effective in increasing the proportion of smokers who successfully quit smoking and remain abstinent after 1 year. Although most smoking cessation trials do not provide direct evidence of health benefits, the USPSTF found good evidence that smoking cessation lowers the risk for heart disease, stroke, and lung disease. The USPSTF concluded that there is good indirect evidence that even small increases in the quit rates from tobacco cessation counseling would produce important health benefits, and that the benefits of counseling interventions substantially outweigh any potential harms.
Rating: A Recommendation.
Rationale: The USPSTF found good evidence that extended or augmented smoking cessation counseling (5-15 minutes) using messages and self-help materials tailored for pregnant smokers, compared with brief generic counseling interventions alone, substantially increases abstinence rates during pregnancy, and leads to increased birth weights. Although relapse rates are high in the post-partum period, the USPSTF concluded that reducing smoking during pregnancy is likely to have substantial health benefits for both the baby and the expectant mother. The USPSTF concluded that the benefits of smoking cessation counseling outweigh any potential harms.
Rating: I Recommendation.
Rationale: The USPSTF found limited evidence that screening and counseling children and adolescents in the primary care setting are effective in either preventing initiation or promoting cessation of tobacco use. As a result, the USPSTF could not determine the balance of benefits and harms of tobacco prevention or cessation interventions in the clinical setting for children or adolescents.
Counseling to Prevent Tobacco Use and Tobacco-Caused Disease, 2003
Recommendation Statement (PDF File, 200 KB)
Related Resources
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report Recommendations and Reports
Go to: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/mmwr_rr.html
Guide to Community Preventive Services
Go to: http://www.thecommunityguide.org
USPSTF Topic Index
USPSTF Clinical Categories
U.S. Preventive Services Task Force