This page has information on clinical care topics for health professionals, including dosing and duration of nicotine replacement therapy and best practices in tobacco control within the VA.
Pocket guide for clinicians
This pocket guide provides brief guidance on the 5 A’s of smoking cessation counseling: Ask, Advise, Assess, Assist, and Arrange.
- Helping Smokers Quit: A Guide for Clinicians (172 KB, PDF)
Clinical practice guidelines and quick reference guide
These guidelines provide clinical guidance to VA health care providers on evidence-based tobacco use cessation interventions, including brief counseling, pharmacotherapy, telephone counseling, intensive treatment, and recommendations for cessation with specialty populations. The guidelines reflect a population-based approach to tobacco cessation as a major public health challenge.
- U.S. Public Health Service Clinical Practice Guideline - Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence: 2008 Update (2.1 MB, PDF) | In Spanish (2.3 MB, PDF)
- Quick Reference Guide for Clinicians (2008 Update) - Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence (1.1 MB, PDF)
Tobacco use cessation treatment guidance
Download the Veterans Health Administration's three part Tobacco Use Cessation Treatment Guidance, which includes easy to use flowcharts and a table detailing treatment options.
- Part 1: Guidance on the 5 A's (Ask, Advise, Assess, Assist, Arrange) (233 KB, PDF)
- Part 2: Assisting with Tobacco Cessation - Medication Options (250 KB, PDF), provides guidance on what options to try first and what to do if there is a relapse
- Part 3: Medications for Tobacco Use Cessation (1.9 MB, PDF), a table listing medication descriptions, pros/cons, limitations, and dosing recommendations
Smoking cessation medications and nicotine replacement therapy
A wide variety of FDA-approved nicotine replacement therapies and smoking cessation medications are available in the VA formulary.
- VA Clinical Guidance/Criteria for Use (Varenicline): Look for "Varenicline Criteria for Prescribing" link located near the bottom of the page (Updated July 2011)
- VA Formulary Choices for Pharmacotherapy of Smoking Cessation (Updated December 2009) (103 KB, PDF)
- Varenicline and Bupropion Safety Warnings from FDA (Issued July 2009)
Online resources for Veterans
The Quit Tobacco, Make Everyone Proud website is available to Veterans through a VA partnership with the Department of Defense/TRICARE. This site includes online tools, personalized quit plans and live chat services. Veterans should click on the "VA Veterans" link to access these resources.
Posters and a wallet card are available to remind Veterans about this online resource.
- Poster, 11" x 17", light background (815 KB, PDF)
- Poster, 11" x 17", dark background (443 KB, PDF)
- Wallet card, front and back (257 KB, PDF)
Health effects of exposure to secondhand smoke
The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General was released on June 27, 2006, and increases our understanding of the very serious health effects of exposure to secondhand smoke. Read major conclusions.
Consumer health information on e-cigarettes
The Food and Drug Administration has posted consumer information about the potential health risks of e-cigarettes: FDA Warns of Health Risks Posed by E-Cigarettes (434 KB, PDF)
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