Study: Kids’ Doctors Can Help Parents Quit

Children’s doctors can help parents get help in quitting smoking, a new study finds. Pediatricians have an interest in helping parents quit smoking in order to reduce children’s risk from the smoke. The American Academy of Pediatrics supported the study. Doctors’ offices in the study were randomly divided into two groups. All of the offices asked parents whether they were smokers. In half of the offices, doctors were asked to provide advice on quitting smoking. The program also included referrals to quitlines and prescriptions for nicotine replacement medicines. The other group of doctors just provided usual care to children. Nearly 1,000 parents were in each group. They were interviewed at the end of the office visit to assess what happened. Researchers found that 24% of the offices in the test program provided counseling on quitting smoking.