How you can help
Health and community services agencies and their workers can make a difference in the lives of people who smoke. As a first step, making a positive difference involves providing a supportive service environment. Smoke-free services and settings encourage and support quitting and help prevent the uptake of smoking by de-normalising smoking. In environments where smoking is visible and accepted, smoking is easily reinforced, making it more difficult for people to manage their smoking or attempt to quit. The addition of accessible information and resources to assist interested people to quit smoking can really make a supportive service environment.
Workers in health and community services have a unique opportunity to work directly with people about smoking. The seriousness of the health and welfare implications of smoking gives workers a clear mandate to address smoking with their patients/clients. Smoking kills more than 15,000 Australians annually and is the foremost contributor to illness and premature death. Moreover, smoking is a social justice issue with vulnerable groups, such as Indigenous Australians and people with a mental illness, bearing a disproportionate share of the burden of disease. There is also growing evidence that smoking reinforces and intensifies disadvantage. Because smoking rates remain very high among disadvantaged groups despite the downward trend among the broader community, the social inequalities in tobacco use make a significant contribution to inequalities in health.
Health professionals can ask their patients about smoking, provide a referral to Quitline, a local quit group, or other relevant professional if appropriate and actively encourage and support their patients in their quitting journey.
Further information is provided for health professionals to help them assist their patients and clients in the quitting process:
The role of health professionals in the quitting process
The majority of smokers are interested in quitting (but not necessarily ready to take action) and studies have shown that encouragement and brief advice from health professionals is appreciated and will often lead to action.
There are resources to assist you and your patients who smoke.
Health professionals are not expected to spend hours counselling their patients through the quitting process but quitting smoking is hard to do and patients will need all the help they can get to be successful.
Top of page
Challenging some common barriers for health professionals
"It’s not my role, I can’t make a difference" – Health professionals do have an important role in smoking cessation and can make a difference, even with minimal effort.
"Patients don’t want to hear about it, I don’t want to put them off" – Patients do want to hear about it and when asked say they expect smoking as other issues related to their illness will be discussed and assistance provided to quit.
Lack of time and incentives – Time can be a barrier, however if a system is in place it becomes part of the routine. Incentives may need to be the result of knowing this is an important issue.
Lack of resources – Resources and training can be provided. Call the Quitline for more information.
Lack of confidence and skills to intervene – Training can increase confidence and skills, and is available. Informing other health professionals about the programs can really help to change this issue.
The role of community professionals in the quitting process
Disadvantaged people want to quit smoking as much as others in the broader community but face more barriers to quitting and often receive less interest and support from workers to quit. Smoking can be entrenched in some groups and communities and the adversity that some people face in their lives can make it difficult to quit smoking. The difficult circumstances in some people's lives can lead workers to believe that their clients ‘have enough on their plate’ and are not interested in quitting smoking.
However, the community services sector is now beginning to appreciate and tackle the significant impact of smoking on disadvantaged individuals and communities. The re-conceptualisation of smoking as an important social justice issue for disadvantaged people has spurred action on smoking within many community and welfare organisations. Increasingly, organisations are creating or updating their organisational policies about smoking and accessing training and information to enable staff to provide increased support for their clients who smoke.
Social and community services agencies are an ideal setting in which disadvantaged people who smoke can find support and encouragement to address their smoking. The delivery of services occurs within a social justice framework and philosophy, and the context of people's lives is well understood. Many people may find the support of trusted community workers helpful.
Acknowledgement –The information on How you can help has been supplied Quit South Australia.
For more information visit:
http://www.quitsa.org.au
Top of page
Reasons to quit
Every cigarette you don’t smoke is doing you good. There are many health benefits to quitting, some of which you’ll be able to notice within hours or days. Similarly, within days, you’ll also notice the extra money in your pocket you’ve saved from quitting.
Ways to quit
Quitting smoking can be one of the most difficult, yet rewarding things a person can do. Most smokers' say they would like to quit, and may have tried at least once. These tips and facts will assist you in quitting for good.
Help and support
Quitting smoking can be hard, but you’re not alone. Quitline and Quit Coach can offer the support and guidance you need to quit for good.
Quit Now Calculator
Use the online calculator to see how much money you could save if you quit smoking. The calculator provides you with a range of goals, and the time it would take you to reach them.