Overview
- The Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care published its recommendations on August 25 in CMAJ, presenting a structured menu of effective options to help adults stop smoking.
- Recommended interventions include behavioural counselling and self-help supports alongside pharmacotherapies such as nicotine replacement therapy, varenicline, bupropion and the plant-based option cytisine, with combined approaches encouraged.
- E‑cigarettes receive a conditional recommendation against first‑line use, with the task force advising they be considered only after other methods fail or by strong patient preference due to uncertain long‑term safety, inconsistent formulations and lack of Health Canada approval for cessation.
- The guideline advises against alternative therapies including acupuncture, hypnosis, laser therapy, electrical head stimulation, ear acupressure, St. John’s Wort and SAMe because of little or very uncertain benefit.
- Implementation tools support routine smoking status checks and shared decision‑making, the recommendations exclude traditional or ceremonial Indigenous tobacco use, and the guidance is framed by data showing 11% of Canadians 15+ smoked in 2022 alongside high youth vaping experimentation.