The Role of Pharmacists in Smoking Cessation in Poland

Abstract

In Poland, 38.0% of men and 25.6% of women smoke daily. One method for expanding access to smoking cessation services is through community-based pharmacists. Surveys were administered in [2007][2008] to (a) current smokers, (b) members of a pharmacy association, and (c) pharmacy students in their final year of training. Pharmacists were the highest ranked health professionals to whom Polish smokers reported they would turn for information about pharmacological support for smoking cessation. Most pharmacists (79%) reported their knowledge allowed them to provide basic smoking cessation information to their patients. Pharmacy students reported being more able to provide information about the health consequences of tobacco smoking than to help patients quit smoking (85% vs. 61%). In Poland, community-based pharmacists are positioned to provide smoking cessation interventions to all segments of the population. To extend and promote smoking cessation efforts, comprehensive tobacco cessation training should be a required component of the pharmacy school curriculum.

Pharmacist-led smoking cessation: The attitudes and practices of community pharmacists in Lagos state, Nigeria: A mixed methods survey

“…Many of the pharmacists (88%) felt it was their duty to provide cessation services, however less than 70% of the pharmacists believed that pharmacists' as a group had the required training to provide either smoking cessation counseling or pharmacotherapy. This is in contrast to findings in Poland where 79% felt they were fully qualified to provide smoking cessation services and provided community based cessation services 42 . Furthermore, an assessment of the factors associated with a willingness to provide smoking cessation services among the respondents was consistent with other studies, 25,43 Respondents who believed that pharmacists' had the required training to provide smoking cessation services were more willing to provide these services.…”

“…A similar study among pharmacists in Montana, USA showed similar findings with low rates of inquiry of smoking status of clients. [41] These findings however differ from those reported among pharmacists in Poland where the majority (86%) of the community pharmacists inquired about smoking status and provided both smoking cessation counseling and dispensing of NRT's to their clients 42 .…”

Effectiveness of Tobacco Education for Pharmacy Students in Indonesia

“…At present, an involvement of pharmacists in tobacco cessation was encouraged by several organizations including National Health Service (NHS), the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP), American Society of Health System Pharmacy (ASHP) (McRobbie and McEwen, 2005, Siiskonen, September 2004, Hudmon and Corelli, 2009). However, barriers of pharmacist to provide smoking cessation counseling are lack of time and lack of knowledge and skill (Goniewicz et al, 2010, El Hajj et al, 2012.…”

Pharmacists’ Preparedness to Patients Education at the Time of Pandemic—A Cross-Sectional Study with an Example of SARS-CoV-2 Outbreak in Poland

“…Meanwhile, although Polish patients still connect pharmacists mostly with selling medicaments [ 16 ], there are reports indicating patients’ positive attitudes and expectations for pharmacists’ advice or information on drugs, smoking cessation, and minor or chronic health conditions, including their screening and prevention [ 17 , 18 ]. The majority of Polish pharmacists also express positive attitudes and readiness to expand the scope of their practice [ 19 , 20 ].…”