The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends counseling and pharmaceutical interventions to help adults and pregnant women quit smoking. Clinicians should ask all adult patients about smoking and encourage those who do smoke to quit with appropriate cessation aids. Task Force recommendations were informed by a systematic review of published evidence on smoking cessation interventions, including behavioral interventions and medications. The full recommendations and the evidence review are published in Annals of Internal Medicine.
For nonpregnant adults, the Task Force recommends behavioral therapy or the use of medications that have been approved for smoking cessation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, including nicotine replacement therapy. For nonpregnant adults, these cessation aids may be used alone or in combination. The Task Force recommends behavioral interventions only for pregnant women.
There was not enough evidence for the Task Force to assess the benefits and harms of the use of e-cigarettes for smoking cessation in adults, or the use of smoking cessation medications, including nicotine replacement therapy, in pregnant women.
Recommendation Statement: Behavioral and Pharmacotherapy Interventions for Tobacco Smoking Cessation in Adults, Including Pregnant Women: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement, Albert L. Siu, MD, MSPH, for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, Annals of Internal Medicine, doi:10.7326/M15-2023, published online 22 September 2015.
Evidence Review: Behavioral Counseling and Pharmacotherapy Interventions for Tobacco Cessation in Adults, Including Pregnant Women: A Review of Reviews for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, Carrie D. Patnode, PhD, MPH; Jillian T. Henderson, PhD, MPH; Jamie H. Thompson, MPH; Caitlyn A. Senger, MPH; Stephen P. Fortmann, MD; and Evelyn P. Whitlock, MD, MPH, Annals of Internal Medicine, doi:10.7326/M15-0171, published online 22 September 2015.