WHO releases first-ever treatment guidelines to help people quit tobacco smoking
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has released its first guidelines combining behavioural support, digital tools and medications to help people quit smoking.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has introduced its first guidelines to help people quit smoking.
The guidelines recommend a combination of behavioral support from healthcare providers, digital tools, and medications.
These recommendations are for the more than 750 million tobacco users worldwide who use a variety of tobacco products, including cigarettes, waterpipes, smokeless tobacco, cigars, roll-your-own tobacco, and heated tobacco products (HTPs).
According to the World Health Organization, more than 60% of the world’s 1.25 billion tobacco users want to quit, but 70% do not have access to effective smoking cessation services due to health system challenges and limited resources.
“The struggle to quit smoking is huge,” said Dr. Rudiger Krech, Director of Health Promotion at the World Health Organization. “We need to understand how much strength is required to overcome this addiction and how much suffering individuals and their families have to endure.”
What are the guidelines?
Combining medications with behavioral support greatly increases the likelihood of quitting smoking. WHO encourages countries to make these treatments available at low or no cost, especially in low- and middle-income areas.
The World Health Organization recommends medications such as varenicline, nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), bupropion, and cytisine as effective treatments for quitting tobacco.
In 2023, the health agency launches a process to improve global access to recommended tobacco cessation medicines.
In April 2024, Kenview’s nicotine gum and patches became the first WHO-approved NRT products.
The World Health Organization also recommends brief counselling of 30 seconds to 3 minutes from health workers and more intensive behavioural support such as individual, group or phone counselling.
Digital tools such as text messaging, smartphone apps, and Internet programs can also be used to help people quit smoking.
The World Health Organization urges health care providers, policy makers and stakeholders to adopt these guidelines to promote tobacco cessation and improve health worldwide.