Current insights and new opportunities for smoking cessation

Assisting smokers to stop smoking is often seen as a difficult task but is crucial for health improvement, especially for those with established cardiovascular disease. Healthcare professionals are now, more than ever, in a position to help smokers who want to stop. For the greatest chance of success smokers should be referred to stop smoking services that provide multi-session treatment combining intensive behavioural support with nicotine replacement therapy or bupropion. Promising new medications are being developed that will add to the current treatment strategies and may give smokers a greater chance of stopping for good.