You can reduce your patients’ risk for cancer, improve their blood pressure and increase their life expectancy all by participating in one event—the Great American Smokeout on Nov. 19.
Each year, the American Cancer Society sponsors this event on the third Thursday in November to encourage people to quit smoking. While smoking rates have declined, 42 million Americans sill smoke as of 2012, making it the most common form of tobacco use, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Cigarette smoking still causes more than one in five deaths in the U.S. each year, according to the CDC, and smokers carry a greater risk of heart disease, cancer and stroke than patients who don’t smoke.
Some of these smokers are likely already patients at your pharmacy or are living in your community, and your pharmacy can help them take the first steps to quit smoking by participating in the Great American Smokeout.
Here are 10 ways to promote and participate in the annual event to help patients quit smoking.
1. Feature smoking cessation products
Move all of your front-end smoking cessation products, such as nicotine gum, patches or lozenges, to a prominent display near your checkout area. Recommend these products to patients interested in quitting smoking as they fill their prescriptions.
2. Incentivize quitting
Offer a 10 percent off coupon on relevant smoking cessation products to encourage patients to quit. You can even offer a 10 or 20 percent discount off their entire front-end purchase as a reward for patients who go smoke-free for an entire month.
3. Crowdsource advice
Use your pharmacy’s social media to crowdsource advice on quitting smoking from people who have already quit. Ask people for tips about resisting cravings, and share their motivational success stories with your social media followers.
4. Blog about it
Write a post on your pharmacy’s website or blog about the dangers of smoking and the benefits of quitting. Be sure to share your post with all of your social media followers and consider using print versions of the information as bag stuffers.
5. Reach out to local media
Raise awareness about the dangers of smoking and how your pharmacy can help people quit, by reaching out to local T.V. stations and newspapers. If you get interviewed for a newspaper article or a T.V. segment, you’ll be able to share your expertise with a wider audience.
6. Incorporate images
Images and videos can help patients visualize the harms of smoking. You can download images and public service announcement advertisements for free from the CDC’s website.
You can also download Great American Smokeout graphics and materials, including posters, flyers, table tents, information sheets, quit cards, fact sheets and more, from the American Cancer Society’s website.
Consider posting these images around your pharmacy and sharing the videos on your website and social media profiles to raise awareness about the harms of smoking and your pharmacy’s smoking cessation program.
7. Host a public seminar
Consider hosting a free one-day smoking cessation seminar open to the public at a local community center. Hosting this event in a public space can attract people who aren’t already your patients, but who are interested in quitting smoking. Use this seminar as a bridge to promote your four or eight week smoking cessation classes, and as an opportunity to talk about the other products that can help patients quit.
8. Conduct youth outreach
In 2012, 23 percent of male high school students and 18 percent of female high school students were current tobacco users, according to the American Cancer Society. Invite local students for a field trip to your pharmacy, or offer to give a talk at an area school about the health risks associated with smoking, to help area kids make smart choices about tobacco.
9. Raise awareness about prescription cessation aids
Reach out to physicians to talk about the prescription products available to help patients quit smoking. Let prescribers know that your pharmacy can provide patients who are interested in quitting with these prescriptions, supplementary over-the-counter (OTC) products, and the counseling and support they need to quit.
Check out the American Cancer Society’s guide to the available prescription smoking cessation products before you schedule your physician visits.
10. Educate yourself
Take advantage of the CDC’s free education program for pharmacists and learn the best practices for smoking cessation, and get tools to conduct a positive and effective smoking intervention. You can also earn up to 4.5 continuing education credits for participating in the program.
Helping patients to quit smoking is a year-round project that you can work on even after the annual Great American Smokeout.
