These recommendations are expected to benefit more than 750 million adults who want to quit all forms of tobacco, including cigarettes, waterpipes, smokeless tobacco products, cigars, roll-your-own tobacco and heated tobacco products.
“This guideline marks a crucial milestone in our global battle against these dangerous products,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO.
“It provides countries with essential tools to effectively support people to quit smoking and alleviate the global burden of tobacco-related diseases,” he added.
Challenges to quit smoking
While 750 million tobacco users (60 percent of the world's 1.25 billion tobacco users) want to quit, a large majority lack access to services to help them do so due to resource constraints and other health system challenges.
Rüdiger Krech, Director of Health Promotion at WHO, stressed that the difficulties people face when trying to quit smoking should not be exaggerated.
“We must deeply appreciate the strength it takes and the suffering that people and their loved ones endure to overcome this addiction,” said Dr. Krech. “These guidelines are designed to help communities and governments provide the best possible support and assistance to those undertaking this difficult journey.”
Treatment options
In its guidelines, WHO proposed a combination of pharmacotherapy and behavioural interventions that can significantly increase success rates in quitting smoking.
He encouraged countries to offer these treatments free or at a reduced cost to improve accessibility, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.
Treatments include medications such as varenicline, nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), bupropion, and cytisine.
For behavioural interventions, WHO suggested brief counselling sessions with a health worker (lasting between 30 seconds and three minutes) in a health care setting.
More intensive care options include individual, group, or telephone counseling sessions.
“In addition, digital interventions such as text messaging, smartphone apps and internet programmes can be used as adjuncts or self-management tools,” WHO added.
