EXPERIENCE WITH QUALIFIED TOBACCO SMOKING CESSATION TELE-ASSISTANCE VIA THE INTERNET

One of the main areas of action in the fight against the tobacco smoking (TS) epidemic is to organize and introduce various forms of qualified TS cessation assistance in practical public health service. The paper reports the experience in organizing and introducing qualified TS cessation assistance in practice through the Internet. It describes a system to inform the population about this type of assistance and a scheme of its implementation. Demographic characteristics, the features of a smoking history, and the effectiveness of tele- assistance to 1256 smokers who have used the Internet for smoking quitting have been analyzed. The advantage of assistance delivered via the Internet is its wide availability for people living in the country's most different regions and the low cost of its organization and implementation. The disadvantage of Internet assistance is limited abilities to monitor patients and to assess the results of care provided. The analysis of the authors’ own experience and the data available in the literature has led to the conclusion that there is an absolute prospect for the development and dissemination of qualified TS cessation assistance through the Internet.

prevention, tobacco smoking, smoking cessation, teleconsultations, Internet