Scripted intervention: A map for smoking cessation counseling

Primary care physicians are on the front lines in the battle against cigarette smoking. To optimize our impact, obstetrician/gynecologists must learn to use intervention tools. We describe a scripted approach for physicians to use to set the course for office-based smoking cessation counseling. Five key components are incorporated: unequivocally advising cessation; acknowledging the difficulty of quitting; providing self-help materials; setting a quit date; and encouraging the patient. This script was the central component of a successful program to reduce smoking rates in the obstetric clinic at the University of North Carolina. It is brief and well- received by patients. Put into routine clinical use it will ensure that counseling arrives at the intended destination-a plan to quit and stay quit.