Ask, advise and refer: Hypothesis generation to promote a brief tobacco-cessation intervention in community pharmacies

Abstract

This study highlights the potential fear among pharmacists about negative reactions from patients in response to initiating tobacco cessation discussions. Based on the results of this study it is hypothesized that the following strategies would facilitate adoption of AAR: (1) train pharmacists to initiate cessation discussions; (2) initially target discussions with patients who have a disease or medication adversely affected by tobacco use; (3) encourage patient enquiry about pharmacy cessation services through visual cues; and (4) help pharmacists set up a workflow system compatible with the AAR protocol.