Grand Est: launch of free training on smoking cessation for health professionals

The Grand Est regional health agency (ARS) and the University of Lorraine have just opened a training course on smoking cessation, called Fast. Intended for practicing health professionals or future health professionals, it is available on a free platform. The project is developed jointly by the universities of the Grand Est: Lorraine, Strasbourg and Reims Champagne-Ardenne.

This training is funded by the ARS Grand Est to the tune of 630,000 euros as part of the fund to combat addictions (FLCA). The project is co-led by the Faculty of Pharmacy, the Faculty of Midwifery and Health Professions and the Health College of the University of Lorraine, in partnership with the associations involved in the fight against smoking in the Grand Est (Grand Est Sans Tabac - GEST, Grand Est Addiction - GEA) and the CHRU of Nancy. The associations of health professionals (URPS, FEMAGE) and the Orders, concerned by the training, were directly associated with this project.

This free distance learning course, which lasts around 3 hours in total, can be stopped and resumed at any time to suit users' schedules.

A majority of smokers want to quit

In France, the issue of smoking cessation remains essential where tobacco consumption stagnates at a very high level with 31.8% of French adults aged 18-75 declaring themselves smokers, including 24.5% daily. The Grand Est region is the third region in France where people smoke the most. A situation that can be explained in part by the presence of several border countries where tobacco prices are much lower than those in France. Added to this is the weight in the region of more vulnerable social categories for whom smoking prevalence is higher.

The benefits of quitting smoking are significant, regardless of the smoker's age: quitting smoking at age 30 improves life expectancy by 10 years, quitting at age 50 improves life expectancy by 4 years, quitting at age 60 improves life expectancy by 3 years.

The proportion of smokers wishing to quit smoking is high: it is estimated that six out of ten smokers wish to quit. However, only a minority succeed without support. However, this support from a health professional increases the chances of successfully quitting by 70%, highlighting the challenges of providing care at this level.

Health professionals, on the front line to support smokers in quitting

Since 2016, the prescription of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) has been open to dentists, nurses and physiotherapists, in addition to doctors and midwives. As a result, more and more health professionals are now authorized to prescribe nicotine replacement therapy. However, they are still insufficiently trained in the management of smoking cessation. For Professor Yves Martinet, president of the National Committee against Smoking and one of the four experts who coordinated the FAST project, all health professionals must systematically address their patient's smoking status: " This is indirectly part of their initial training curriculum, but given the importance of the health problem that smoking represents, it is completely insufficient as initial training. »[1]. It is to address this gap and to increase the level of knowledge and know-how of professionals that the training was created. It is based on practical tools (videos, quizzes, illustrations and expert interventions) adapted to the specific needs of the health professions targeted for supporting smoking patients in stopping tobacco consumption.

It is important that they are made aware of the issue of smoking cessation in order to propose suitable solutions based on the main strategies recognised as effective: advice on quitting, motivational interviewing, cognitive and behavioural therapies and drug treatments (nicotine substitutes in particular).

©Generation Without Tobacco

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