Developing Smoking Cessation Programs for Chronically Ill Teens: Lessons Learned

Objective Medically fragile teens who smoke need access to smoking cessation programs, because they are at even higher risk than their healthy peers for smoking-related complications. Methods To date, no studies on the outcome of smoking cessation programs for medically ill teens have been conducted. To suggest directions for future research, we turn to the literature on smoking cessation in the general population of teens and occasionally to the literature on adult smokers. Results Four areas are explored: (a) the prevalence of unaided cessation in healthy teens; (b) the outcomes of various treatments for smoking cessation in healthy adolescents; (c) special issues that should be considered when designing programs for medically ill teens; and (d) lessons learned from previous research. Conclusions Medically ill teens face a number of medical, emotional, social, and developmental challenges that can affect the quitting process. Research is sorely needed to address the unique needs of this population. Key words adolescents; chronic illness; pediatric; smoking cessation; tobacco use. Clinicians and researchers are just beginning to grapple with the realization that medically fragile children (i.e., those with serious illnesses) use tobacco at substantial rates. For example, teens with asthma have been found t