Substance Abuse and Smoking Cessation

  • Describe use of appropriate tools for asking about substance and alcohol abuse
  • Initiate a discussion around substance abuse using motivational interviewing to assess readiness for change or stage of change
  • Describe target organ damage due to smoking and alcohol
  • List some community resources and other health care professionals who could be part of the care-team for the patient suffering from substance abuse.
  • List the evidence-based interventions for smokers including
    • A description of the various nicotine replacement forms, how they are used and how to advise patients on how much to use
    • Prescription medications, effectiveness and side effects

Core Resources

Substance Addictions Clinical Card

Taylor RC, Tink W. Keegan DA. Substance Addictions. Canadian Family Medicine Clinical Card. 2014. Available at: https://sites.google.com/site/sharcfm/

Alcoholism

Munroe S, Clarkson B. Alcoholism One-Page Primer. DFCM Open. 2011. Available at: http://dfcmopen.com. Attribution CC BY-NC-ND

Alcohol Use Disorder Tool

Centre for Effective Practice Alcohol Use Disorder Tool. Sep 2019.

Tobacco Algorithm updated May 2016

Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Nicotine Dependence Service. Algorithm for Tailoring Pharmacotherapy in Primary Care Settings. Created March 2012. Updated. May 2016

CEP Guide for Primary Care Management of Mental Health and Addictions

Centre for Effective Practice in collaboration with Ontario College of Family Physicians and Nurse Practitioners’ Association of Ontario.  Keeping Your Patients Safe: A Guide to Primary Care Management of Mental Health and
Addictions-related Risks and Functional Impairments.  February 2017.

Supplemental Resources

Canada’s Low-Risk Alcohol Drinking Guidelines

Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse. Canada’s Low-Risk Alcohol Drinking Guidelines. 2018. Available at: http://www.ccsa.ca/

Canadian Smoking Cessation Clinical Practice Guideline

CAN-ADAPTT. (2011). Canadian Smoking Cessation Clinical Practice Guideline: Summary Statements. Toronto, Canada: Canadian Action Network for the Advancement, Dissemination and Adoption of Practice-informed Tobacco Treatment, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.

Resources for Smokers

CAN-ADAPTT. (2011). Canadian Smoking Cessation Clinical Practice Guideline: Summary Statements. Toronto, Canada: Canadian Action Network for the Advancement, Dissemination and Adoption of Practice-informed Tobacco Treatment, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.