It’s easy to see why smoking cessation is so important. Just over one in five New Zealanders smoke, with higher rates in Maori and Pacific people, and it has become a major public health problem.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in men and is expected to be the leading cause of cancer death in women by 2011. 92-94% of deaths from lung cancer are caused by smoking.

These are frightening statistics. But it has been proven that there are immediate benefits for individuals who quit smoking. Helping people to quit smoking is therefore one of New Zealand’s major health goals and health professionals all around the country are being called on to help, particularly nurses.

Smokefree Nurses Aotearoa/New Zealand has told the recent parliamentary inquiry into smoking that nurses should be used as frontline troops to help people quit smoking.

Nurses are in a good position to provide smoking cessation support because they are found in almost every community or health setting from hospitals to schools, marae, community clinics, prisons, doctors’ clinics and the list goes on.

But all health professionals can help, so no one should forget their ABCs:

A – Ask every patient about his/her smoking status.

B – give Brief advice to stop smoking to all people who smoke.

C – provide Cessation support for those who express a desire to stop smoking.