162281 - EXCHANGE Smoking Cessation Summit 2019

The EXCHANGE Smoking Cessation Summit 2019 will provide a learning program designed to facilitate the transfer of practical knowledge aimed at helping patients to quit smoking. Current clinical and systemic challenges in smoking cessation will be explored through a combination of plenaries, hands-on workshops and panel discussions, all presented with the opportunity to engage and interact with multidisciplinary colleagues and leading international and local experts.

Tobacco smoking is the leading preventable cause of death and disease in Australia, being a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, several cancers, respiratory disorders such as COPD and type 2 diabetes, as well as having many other negative health effects. 

Approximately 87% of Australians visited a GP at least once in 2015–16, and after adjusting for age–sex general practice attendance patterns, the 2015–16 BEACH survey estimated that nearly 16% of adult patients visiting GPs were daily smokers, 2.8% were occasional smokers and 25% were ex-smokers. This means that GPs will continue to have an integral role in smoking cessation. 

While GPs may recognise the importance of smoking cessation interventions, services in this area are currently fragmented and piece-meal. The EXCHANGE summit aims to help remedy this by bringing together HCPs to work towards a more systematic approach to smoking cessation.