Start to S.T.O.P. (Speak To Our Pharmacists)
Start to S.T.O.P. (Speak To Our Pharmacists)
Compared to a non-smoker, an average smoker loses about 14 years of life. In a smoke-free person, 95% of that additional time will be spent without disability. Quitting smoking not only extends disability-free life, it also shortens the health problems acquired previously from smoking. It is easy to assume that quitting is just a matter of determination and willpower, however this is not true. Quitting smoking is not easy and anyone attempting to quit needs as much help as possible..
In alignment with the National Pharmacy Strategy (transformation of community pharmacy practice from supply to patient centric) and recognizing that pharmacists play an important role in supporting smokers to quit smoking, PSS launched the Start to S.T.O.P. (Speak To Our Pharmacists) programme on 1st August 2017 and officially introduced by Ms Carolyn Chan, Past Secretary of the Community Chapter on the 27th Pharmacy Congress held on 23rd to 24th September 2017. She shared that community pharmacists are the most accessible healthcare professionals and hence making them the most suitable healthcare professional to assist smokers to quit.
Presentation of the Start to S.T.O.P. programme by Ms Carolyn Chan at the 27th Singapore Pharmacy Congress 2017
The Start to S.T.O.P programme, championed by the PSS Community Chapter, is a nationwide collaborative effort by community pharmacy chains Guardian, Unity and Watsons to help smokers quit smoking. It is a six-week counselling programme where pharmacists will design a personalized quit plan, provide emotional support during the quit journey and offer valuable advice or tips to prevent a relapse. Interested parties may walk in to participating community pharmacies to enrol. Alternatively, eligible patients from National Healthcare Group (NHG) polyclinics and Singapore General Hospital (SGH), may be referred to enrol into the Start to S.T.O.P programme. This is a good start towards building more collaborative models of care between public institutions and community pharmacies.
For more details, please visit our website or contact us at starttostop@pss.org.sg
