Hospital patients receptive to quit smoking advice

Abstract

Introduction: Public hospitals are well positioned to play an active role in encouraging patients to quit smoking. Bans on smoking on hospital precincts in Australia and other countries make attending a public hospital an opportune trigger to motivate smokers to quit. As smokers are not allowed to smoke during hospital visits, they could be receptive to smoking cessation advice and support. Since public hospitals have contact with a large and varied section of the general population, in either an inpatient or outpatient capacity, even a small increase in quit rates among hospital patients multiplies to a large number of ex-smokers.