Question 6: GP Quit Smoking Advice Tobacco smoking is one of Australia’s leading causes of early death; therefore, getting smokers to quit remains a critical public health challenge. One of the most important steps in quitting smoking is consultation with General Practitioners (GPs) who provide their patients with quitting strategies informed by their professional organisation guidelines; these are predominantly pharmacotherapy strategies. However, recent research suggests GPs are misinformed as ‘cold turkey’ strategies are far more successful. Are GPs misadvising their patients?
by Nicoli Johnson
1. What do psychologists say? Is there research on the thesis statement? Does this impact mental state?
2. Find examples of 'cold turkey' working and failing
3. GP's know individual patients - e.g. history, mind set, mental state, strengths, weaknesses etc
4. Are people more likely to start smoking again if they go 'cold turkey?'
5. Are patients likely to get addicted to other substances if smoking is suddenly removed to stop cravings? (e.g. sugar, drugs, alcohol, coffee etc)
6. GP's have different opinions and experiences - cold turkey might work for one patient but cause other issues for another
7. Find examples or study on health impact from going 'Cold Turkey'
8. Define 'Cold Turkey'
9. Step by step might have less impact on lifestyle eg. mood swings, impact to families
10. If a patient goes cold turkey will they continue to seek GP advise? GPs can assist and coach if they advise of quitting strategies.
