Tobacco Treatment

The Tobacco Cessation Program on the Austin campus of Mayo Clinic Health System offers a one-on-one 60-minute educational session with a certified tobacco treatment specialist, which will help lead to an individualized treatment plan for stopping tobacco use. This program incorporates three key elements:

• Counseling to help patients understand and change their behaviors
• Up-to-date clinically researched pharmacologic therapy to help ease the discomfort of withdrawal from nicotine with a pharmacist reviewing the appropriate replacement therapy with each patient
• Follow-up to prevent relapse by providing accountability and receiving encouragement, support, and additional information when needed.

Patients can be doctor-referred or self-referred. Most patients want to stop tobacco use, though some are just interested in learning more about new methods. Most people can benefit from a discussion of reasons for smoking, reasons for stopping, and changes in health due to smoking. Call Monday - Friday, between 8 and 5 to schedule an appointment. Appointments can be made earlier or later if necessary.

Follow-up counseling sessions may be short or long and the number varies from patient to patient. Many patients are counseled individually for one or more sessions following their initial one-on-one consultation. These counseling sessions benefit people who have set a stop date within a month, helping them to cope with the behavioral and lifestyle changes underway.

The Tobacco Cessation Program is physician supervised so that all aspects of the patient's condition are considered in the treatment process. Treatment of nicotine dependence is coordinated with treatment of other medical problems, when necessary.