Tobacco use is the number one preventable cause of death and disability in the United States today. In 2003, the Interagency Committee on Smoking and Health recommended to establish a federally funded national tobacco quitline network by 2005. Quitlines are telephone-based programs that assist tobacco users to quit. The combination of health professionals referring patients to an accessible, evidence-based, cost-effective cessation resource can produce a substantial reduction in the number of tobacco users in the United States. Initiatives to increase knowledge and working relationships between nurses and quitlines need to be created, implemented, and evaluated.
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