Smoking cessation and the pharmacy: What are the issues that need to be addressed before implementation of an intensive pharmacy based smoking cessation program? A general population perspective

Aim: To gather information on smoking cessation from members of the general population with a lifetime smoking history. To then use this information to identify issues or factors that may need to be considered before the implementation of a pharmacy based smoking cessation program.
Method: Surveys were distributed to members of the general population with a smoking history. The survey was structured to address three groups; current smokers who have attempted to quit in the past, current smokers who have never attempted to quit and members of the population who have a smoking history but are not currently smoking. The populations were sampled from the Sydney South and the Central western regions.
Results: Twenty-two percent of current smokers and four percent of past smokers sought help from the pharmacy during their quitting process. Pharmacists were also found to be an unlikely reason for a person attempting to quit or for quitting smoking.
Conclusion: There a number of factors that need to be addressed before the implementation of a pharmacy based smoking cessation program. Promotion of the pharmacy as an avenue for smoking cessation intervention is needed.