The role of the nurse in smoking cessation: a critical essay

Objective: To reflect on the nurse's professional role in supporting smoking management from an educational perspective and to understand its implications in educating people who use tobacco and the nursing staff. Methods: a theoretical-reflexive study based on the historical-cultural approach of the Perceived Effects of Substance Use Theory of Smith. Results: The harmful effects of cigarettes are well established in the world literature, and despite the harm that smoking causes, nicotine is considered one of the most consumed drugs in the world. Tobacco use is a chronic disease classified in the group of mental and behavioral disorders resulting from the use of psychoactive substances. For the past decade, nurses have been engaged in a wide range of interventions aimed at supporting smoking management. Nurse-led interventions usually aim to reduce control or achieve tobacco abstinence and involve methods such as manuals, pamphlets, brochures, training or printed educational materials, audio, and video files besides nursing consultations, as well as nicotine replacement methods. Practice implications: Nurses have played an important role in smoking, promoting health education through individual and group guidance on smoking management. They have proven their competence and skill in these issues.