[Tobacco use : guidelines for primary care physicians].

Abstract

Tobacco use affects about 25% of the population and is the most important modifiable risk factor for many diseases, namely cancers, cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases. The role of the primary care physician is essential in providing screening and brief intervention to all patients, particularly to those at higher risk. This will help them to quit smoking, or adopt risk reduction strategies, according to their own wish. The main interventions include motivational support, nicotine replacement therapy and other medications. Vaping has been proved to be efficient for tobacco withdrawal and is still studied as a risk reduction tool. At the moment, it is considered by some as twenty times less harmful than smoked tobacco.