Written by Renee Watson, MSN, RN, clinical client coordinator at Krames
Quitting tobacco may be a common conversation you have with your patients to help improve their health. So why does the recommendation stick with some patients, but not others? Because quitting smoking is really hard! It’s a process, but every reminder of the benefits of quitting can help advance them in their journey. Approaching the subject with empathy and helpful resources can increase your patient’s chances for success. 

The truth is, if they’re open to a conversation, they’re already in the contemplation stage which is an accomplishment in itself—congratulate them on having the desire to make a positive change! Focus on the benefits of quitting and find what matters most to help motivate them to take action: 
-Is money tight? Share this quit smoking calculator to show how much money they can save from quitting smoking. 
-Are they pregnant, planning to be, or do they have children, or spend time with children who look up to them? The smoking rate of children whose parents started smoking in their twenties is 29%, compared to 8% for children whose parents never smoked.Also, when the oldest sibling smokes, younger siblings are six times as likely to smoke.
-Has the pandemic been particularly scary for them? Reinforce that stopping smoking can help them stay healthier during COVID-19. The risk of smokers developing severe disease and death from COVID-19 is up to 50% higher than that of non-smokers.

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