31 May 2020
Help your patients say No to tobacco
Help your patients say ‘No’ to tobacco. World No Tobacco Day – 31 May 2020
It’s important to maintain good health now more than ever. An important part of this is prevention and dental professionals have a role to play.
Behavioural factors that lead to poor health can put people in a vulnerable position and affect their ability to fight illness. Smoking is a known risk factor for many respiratory infections and increases the severity of respiratory diseases, and it has been found that smokers are more likely to develop severe disease with COVID-19, compared to non-smokers.
While awareness of the dangers of smoking has improved over time, around 12.6 per cent of Australian adults smoke. So, what can you do? Thanks to the Smokefree Smiles initiative by Quit, Dental Health Services Victoria, the Australian Dental Association Victorian Branch and the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services, dental professionals have a range of resources to support their patients to quit smoking using the ‘Ask, Advise, Help’ brief advice model.
These include:
- Online training course (2 scientific CPD hours)
- Chairside guide
- Posters
- Patient brochure
- Quitline referral information.
Visit education.quit.org.au to complete the free course and order the free resource kit at quit.org.au/resource-order-form.
The Smokefree Smiles project is proudly funded and supported by the Victorian Government.
