USPSTF Reaffirms Recommendations to Screen for Tobacco Use and to Intervene

In 2003, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended counseling patients against tobacco use. In 2008, the task force reviewed new evidence and determined that the net benefits of tobacco screening and interventions in adults remained well established.

The USPSTF recommends asking all adults (and pregnant women of all ages) about tobacco use and providing smokers with tobacco-cessation interventions (brief counseling and pharmacotherapy and, for pregnant women, counseling augmented with pregnancy-specific measures and self-help materials). They concluded that the net benefit of implementing this recommendation was high. Recommendation: A (The USPSTF recommends the service; the grading system can be accessed on the USPSTF web…