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Smokers with COPD more likely to receive advice about quitting from HPs

Smokers with COPD reported they received significantly more information about quitting and advice to quit from health care providers than smokers without the disease, according to study results.

“A key finding from this study is that the prevalence of self-reported receipt of each of the [5A strategies for quitting] is significantly higher among those with COPD compared to those without COPD,” Gillian L. Schauer, MPH, a PhD student in the department of behavioral sciences and health education at Emory University in Atlanta, and colleagues wrote. “The literature suggests that having a tobacco-related chronic disease can be a motivator for cessation, so patients with COPD may be more likely to bring up the issue with their provider.”

Schauer and colleagues analyzed data from 20,021 adult past-year cigarette smokers from the 2009-2010 National Adult Tobacco Survey to assess the prevalence of self-reported clinician administered 5A — ask, advise, assess, assist and arrange — strategies in adult smokers with and without COPD.

Of the past-year smokers, 9.1% had COPD and 43.3% of that group either listed themselves as current smokers or recent quitters.

Those participants with COPD — who visited a health professional within the past year — reported being asked about tobacco use more often than those without COPD (95.4% vs. 85.8%). The participants also reported having received more advice to quit (87.5% vs. 59.4%), assessed for readiness to quit (63.8% vs. 38%), offered assistance to quit and offered follow-up (14.9% vs. 5.2%).

However, the number of health care providers who had offered quitting advice to the entire study population seemed to not meet the researchers’ expectations.

“Overall reported receipt of the 5A steps was less than optimal — less than two-thirds of COPD patients reported being assessed for readiness to quit, or receiving assistance from their health care provider to plan for a quit attempt and less than one out of every six reported receiving follow-up,” the researchers wrote. “Further, among those without COPD, recall of any of the 5As beyond the ‘ask’ step was low. This is concerning, since promoting tobacco cessation in those without COPD can help prevent development of the disease. – by Ryan McDonald

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.