title: Counseling medical and dental patients about cigarette smoking: the impact of nicotine gum and chart reminders.
abstract: To investigate methods for improving and expanding the counseling of smokers by physicians and dentists, we assigned 112 physicians and 50 dentists (in separate studies) to one of the following conditions: the control or advice-only group received a one-hour lecture on the consequences and management of smoking and a booklet detailing a four-step protocol for counseling patients about smoking; three other groups received, in addition, either, protocol reminder stickers placed on their patients' charts; nicotine gum made freely available to their patients; or both chart reminders and nicotine gum. Exit interviews of 1,091 medical and 647 dental patients indicated that the presence of chart reminders and/or the availability of nicotine gum increased the time spent counseling and altered the nature of the smoking cessation counseling provided by both physicians and dentists.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002638:Chewing Gum; D003376:Counseling / Q000379:methods*; D003815:Dentists; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009538:Nicotine; D010820:Physicians; D011897:Random Allocation; D000074606:Smoking Prevention
chemical_list: D002638:Chewing Gum; D009538:Nicotine