Nursing and the 5As guideline to smoking cessation interventions.

International studies and best practice indicate that even brief interventions from health professionals can increase a patient's abiiity to quit smoking (Joanna Briggs institute for Evidence Based Nursing and Midwifery 2001). Acute care nurses are in a unique position to provide counselling on health related issues as they not only comprise the vast majority of professionals within the health care workforce but also provide a 24-hour, seven days a week service. Patients within the acute care setting are often physically vulnerable and usually contemplating (on some level) or actively seeking advice on how they can improve their health (such as smoking cessation) (Wolfenden et al 2004). However evidence demonstrates that acute care nurses lack the knowledge, skiiis and confidence to be effective when providing smoking cessation interventions (Nagle et al 1999).