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In 2014 to 2015, 70.0% of adult smokers who had seen a physician during the past 12 months reported being advised by that doctor to quit smoking.
Introduction
Clinicians’ advice to quit smoking can by itself contribute 5 to 10 percentage points toward quitting among smoking patients and much more if coupled with behavioral therapy and pharmacological treatment of nicotine addiction. In addition, even minimal clinical interventions have been shown to be cost effective in increasing smokers’ motivation to quit.
If a patient wants to quit, the national guidelines recommend that the clinician follow the “5 A’s” (ask, advise, assess, assist, and arrange). For patients who are not yet ready to quit, the clinician should instead provide a brief intervention designed to promote the motivation to quit. Experts have suggested that a wide variety of clinicians, including dentists, physicians, and other health professionals such as pharmacists, can effectively implement brief strategies to increase future quit attempts. In fact, many individual pharmacies and one national pharmacy chain have decided not to sell tobacco products, recognizing that the sale of tobacco products conflicts with the role of pharmacies as public health facilities.
Measure
The percentage of adult smokers (aged 18 years and older) who have seen a physician or dentist in the past 12 months and report that the physician or dentist advised them to quit smoking.
Healthy People 2020 Target
The Healthy People 2020 (HP2020) targets are developed based on the National Center for Health Statistics survey of physicians and hospitals. In contrast, the data presented in the Cancer Trends Progress Report are based on reports from patients regarding whether they received smoking cessation advice from their physicians or dentists. Therefore, the data presented in this report cannot be directly compared to the HP2020 objectives. Nevertheless, patient self-report data is a valuable measure of how clinicians’ advice to quit smoking is changing over time.
HP2020 includes targets for physicians’ advice to quit smoking in office-based ambulatory care settings and in hospital ambulatory care settings. The HP2020 objective is for adult smokers to receive tobacco cessation counseling at 21.1 percent of visits to physicians’ offices, and at 24.9 percent of hospital visits . HP2020 also includes targets for dentists’ advice to quit smoking in dental care settings. The HP2020 objective is for patients who use tobacco products to receive cessation counseling at 39.3 percent of dental care visits.
Healthy People 2020 is a set of goals set forth by the Department of Health and Human Services.
Note: Goals are indicated as blue line on Detailed Trend Graphs.
Data Source
The Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey, National Cancer Institute, 1992–2015.
Trends and Most Recent Estimates
Physicians' Advice to Quit Smoking
By Sex
| Overview Graph | Detailed Trend Graphs | Most Recent Estimates (2014 to 2015) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percent of adults | 95% Confidence Interval | ||
|
Both Sexes
|
70.0 | 69.0 - 71.0 |
Male
|
68.9 | 67.4 - 70.4 | |
Female
|
71.0 | 69.7 - 72.3 | |
By Race/Ethnicity
| Overview Graph | Detailed Trend Graphs | Most Recent Estimates (2014 to 2015) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percent of adults | 95% Confidence Interval | ||
|
All Races
|
70.0 | 69.0 - 71.0 |
Non-Hispanic White
|
71.0 | 69.8 - 72.1 | |
Non-Hispanic Black
|
70.6 | 67.4 - 73.6 | |
Hispanic
|
63.2 | 59.4 - 66.8 | |
By Age
| Overview Graph | Detailed Trend Graphs | Most Recent Estimates (2014 to 2015) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percent of adults | 95% Confidence Interval | ||
|
Ages 18-24
|
54.7 | 50.7 - 58.6 |
Ages 25+
|
72.0 | 71.0 - 73.0 | |
By Sex and Age
| Overview Graph | Detailed Trend Graphs | Most Recent Estimates (2014 to 2015) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percent of adults | 95% Confidence Interval | ||
|
Males, ages 18-24
|
51.4 | 45.4 - 57.5 |
Males, ages 25+
|
71.3 | 69.9 - 72.8 | |
Females, ages 18-24
|
57.9 | 52.6 - 63.0 | |
Females, ages 25+
|
72.6 | 71.3 - 73.8 | |
By Poverty Income Level
| Overview Graph | Detailed Trend Graphs | Most Recent Estimates (2014 to 2015) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percent of adults | 95% Confidence Interval | ||
|
< 200% of the federal poverty level
|
70.0 | 68.3 - 71.5 |
>= 200% of the federal poverty level
|
69.5 | 68.0 - 71.1 | |
By Education Level
| Overview Graph | Detailed Trend Graphs | Most Recent Estimates (2014 to 2015) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percent of adults | 95% Confidence Interval | ||
|
Less than High School
|
74.4 | 72.0 - 76.7 |
High School
|
73.5 | 72.1 - 74.9 | |
Greater than High School
|
70.2 | 68.9 - 71.5 | |
Dentists' Advice to Quit Smoking
By Sex
| Overview Graph | Detailed Trend Graphs | Most Recent Estimates (2010 to 2011) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percent of adults | 95% Confidence Interval | ||
|
Both Sexes
|
30.4 | 29.3 - 31.5 |
Male
|
32.5 | 30.8 - 34.2 | |
Female
|
28.4 | 27.1 - 29.7 | |
By Race/Ethnicity
| Overview Graph | Detailed Trend Graphs | Most Recent Estimates (2010 to 2011) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percent of adults | 95% Confidence Interval | ||
|
All Races
|
30.4 | 29.3 - 31.5 |
Non-Hispanic White
|
29.8 | 28.6 - 31.0 | |
Non-Hispanic Black
|
34.5 | 30.6 - 38.4 | |
Hispanic
|
29.7 | 25.0 - 34.4 | |
By Age
| Overview Graph | Detailed Trend Graphs | Most Recent Estimates (2010 to 2011) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percent of adults | 95% Confidence Interval | ||
|
Ages 18-24
|
31.1 | 27.2 - 35.1 |
Ages 25+
|
30.2 | 29.0 - 31.4 | |
By Sex and Age
| Overview Graph | Detailed Trend Graphs | Most Recent Estimates (2010 to 2011) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percent of adults | 95% Confidence Interval | ||
|
Males Ages 18-24
|
31.3 | 25.6 - 36.9 |
Males Ages 25+
|
32.6 | 30.9 - 34.4 | |
Females Ages 18-24
|
30.9 | 26.1 - 35.6 | |
Females Ages 25+
|
27.9 | 26.5 - 29.3 | |
By Poverty Income Level
| Overview Graph | Detailed Trend Graphs | Most Recent Estimates (2010 to 2011) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percent of adults | 95% Confidence Interval | ||
|
<200% of federal poverty level
|
32.4 | 30.5 - 34.3 |
>=200% of federal poverty level
|
29.0 | 27.5 - 30.5 | |
By Education Level
| Overview Graph | Detailed Trend Graphs | Most Recent Estimates (2010 to 2011) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percent of adults | 95% Confidence Interval | ||
|
Less than High School
|
33.3 | 29.3 - 37.3 |
High School
|
30.3 | 28.4 - 32.2 | |
Greater than High School
|
29.6 | 28.0 - 31.1 | |
Evidence-based Resources
Evidence-based intervention programs are available on the Research-tested interventions (RTIPs) website that promote smoking cessation and provide guidance to quit.
Additional Information on Clinicians' Advice to Quit Smoking
For the public
- Tobacco and Cancer. American Cancer Society.
- Surgeon General’s Reports on Smoking and Tobacco Use. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- 50 Years of Progress: A Report of the Surgeon General, 2014. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
- Tobacco Products. U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
For smokers
- Cigarette Smoking: Health Risks and How to Quit (PDQ®)–Patient Version. National Cancer Institute.
- Smokefree.gov. National Cancer Institute.
- Tobacco. National Cancer Institute.
- How to Quit Smoking or Smokeless Tobacco. American Cancer Society.
- North American Quitline Consortium.
- Tips From Former Smokers-Media Campaign. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
For health professionals
- Cigarette Smoking: Health Risks and How to Quit (PDQ®) - Health Professional Version. National Cancer Institute.
- Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs – 2014. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Tobacco-Free Pharmacy Laws and Trends in Tobacco Retailer Density in California and Massachusetts. American Public Health Association (04/01/2016) Vol. 106, No. 4, P. 679 Jin, Yue; Lu, Bo; Klein, Elizabeth G.; et al.
- Tobacco use and cessation for cancer survivors: an overview for clinicians. Karam-Hage M, Cinciripini PM, Gritz ER. CA Cancer J Clin. 2014 Jul-Aug;64(4):272-90.
- Stakeholder Research Priorities for Smoking Cessation Interventions within Lung Cancer Screening Programs. An Official American Thoracic Society Research Statement. Kathuria H, Detterbeck FC, Fathi JT et al. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2017; 196(9):1202-1212.
- Tobacco Smoking Cessation in Adults, Including Pregnant Women: Behavioral and Pharmacotherapy Interventions (September 2015). U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.
- Clinical Practice Guideline, Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence: 2008 Update. U.S. Public Health Service.
Scientific reports
- Monograph 12: Population Based Smoking Cessation Proceedings of a Conference on What Works to Influence Cessation in the General Population. U.S. Public Health Service and the National Cancer Institute.
- A comparison of cessation counseling received by current smokers at US dentist and physician offices during 2010-2011. Agaku IT, Ayo-Yusuf OA, Vardavas CI. Am J Public Health 2014 Aug;104(8):e67-75.
- Factor structure and stability of smoking-related health beliefs in the National Lung Screening Trial. Kaufman AR, Koblitz AR, Persoskie A, et al. Nicotine Tob Res. 2016 Mar;18(3):321-9.
- Quitting smoking among adults – United States, 2000–2015. Babb S, Malarcher A, Schauer G, et al. MMWR 2017;65(52):1457–64.
- Exploring issues of comorbid conditions in people who smoke. Rojewski AM, Baldassarri S, Cooperman NA et al. Nicotine Tob Res 2016; 18(8):1684-1696.
- Efficacy of smoking-cessation interventions for young adults: a meta-analysis. Suls JM, Luger TM, Curry SJ, Mermelstein RJ, Sporer AK, An LC. Am J Prev Med. 2012;42(6):655–62.
Statistics
- The Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey. National Cancer Institute.
- The National Health Interview Survey Cancer Control Supplements. National Center for Health Statistics, co-sponsored by the National Cancer institute/DCCPS and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/OSH and DCPC.