[Smoking cessation in pharmacies--evaluation of the smoking cessation campaign "Tobacco adieu!" among pharmacists in Basel].

Now as in the past, tobacco consumption is a major health problem in Switzerland. Efforts to reduce tobacco consumption include different preventive strategies. Although dispensary pharmacists have increased their efforts in health promotion and prevention in recent years, their role in tobacco prevention has not been documented so far. The "Tobacco Adieu!" campaign to support smoking cessation was introduced in pharmacies as a low threshold offer in Basle in 1996. This paper assesses the process and the effect of this effort. Participating pharmacies were interviewed during the evaluation and all consultations in this area were recorded in questionnaires. Customers requesting counselling from pharmacies during the campaign were also asked to fill in a questionnaire regarding their smoking behaviour and their experiences in the pharmacy. The offer was well accepted by the public: During the four week period, about 2,000 client contacts for smoking cessation took place in the 63 participating pharmacies. Compared to the pre-campaign situation, more intensive counselling took place. Clients who received counselling in the pharmacies generally attested to its good quality. In addition to counselling, further care during the smoking cessation phase was offered to clients who wanted to quit smoking. Follow-up visits were agreed in 76 percent of the cases. The project shows that smokers can be motivated to consider cessation and supported in the process by pharmacists. Therefore, pharmacies can be used as a low threshold offer in this context. Expansion of this programme in public pharmacies seems justified. However, continuing education and a motivated team are the prerequisites for successful counselling of smokers in pharmacies.