Helping the elderly quit smoking is one of the most important responsibilities of the healthcare professional. The number of cessation programs designed for the elderly are severely limited, therefore the venues by which they actively quit smoking are not nearly as prevalent as other age segments. Most health care professionals have not received significant training in smoking cessation counseling in general, even though it is one of the most prevalent causes of health problems within America. In the absence of having a strong primary care physician or a group therapy session to promote smoking cessation, alternatives include the use of cessation literature. Many channels of education have been attempted with some success in the elderly. In one recent test conducted by Rimer and Orleans using smoking cessation brochures, the results were extremely promising. In the study, three groups were established with the control group receiving cessation literature not specifically designed for the elderly, and the other two receiving senior focused brochure and one or two follow-up phone counseling. The senior-focused brochures showed an almost 20% quitting rate as compared to 15% with non-focused literature. This study shows that the use of cessation literature may be a very easy and low-cost method to decrease smoking among the elderly. Other methods to encourage smoking cessation among the elderly is to reliance on family networks. The strongest indirect method for smoking cessation is to distribute literature to the children of elderly smokers and rely on the family network to persuade the elderly towards smoking cessation. This strategy has been particularly effective within southern rural areas where the access of other methods for smoking cessation are not available. Family networks are extremely reliable and as a result, they are very strong motivators for the elderly to quit smoking.

Statistically it has been shown that the most yield from prevention efforts come from youth ages 14 to 25. However, more immediate cost savings for both Medicare and the health industry in general can be achieved through encouraging older-adults to quit smoking. Nurses and health care professionals should always acquire about tobacco use status among the elderly and to actively encourage them to quit smoking and enroll in other support groups that help accomplish this goal. Research into other methodologies for encouraging smoking cessation needs to be conducted. Several proposed alternative solutions include the use of mailed educational and material literature, as well as effective and accessible phone counseling methods. In general, the access to smoking cessation for the elderly are in many ways severely limited, this however does not mean that all efforts should desist in the wake of such practices. In essence it is essential that the medical profession emphasizes smoking cessation to the elderly and increase promotion of programs and literatures to that effect. Smoking is one the primary causes for deteriorating health among the elderly, any and all efforts should be made to prevent such deterioration.
Huston, C.G., Shelton, D.M., Chrismon, J.H., et al. (1997). Cigarette smoking and smoking cessation among older adults: United States, 1965-94. Tobacco Control, 6(3): 175-80.

Hermanson, B., Omenn, G.S., Kronmal, R.A., et al. (1988). Beneficial sixteen year outcome of smoking cessation in older men and women with coronary artery disease. Result from the CASS registry. New England Journal of Medicine, 319(21):1365-9.

Rimer, B.K. And Orleans, C.T. (1994). Tailoring smoking cessation for older adults. Cancer, 74(7 Suppl):2051-4.