Table 1 Smoking cessation counseling protocol

Smoking cessation counseling protocol

Control group counseling: brief intervention

"As your doctor, I recommend that you quit smoking, although the decision is yours alone. I know that it is difficult to make a decision right now, but we have a number of resources that can help you quit smoking and I know that if you decide to quit in the future you will be able to do that. Remember that you can always count on us to help."

Intervention group counseling: detailed discussion of spirometry

"Tobacco is harmful to your health. Smoking can produce various diseases such as, for example, those that affect your lungs. Some smokers end up getting a chronic pulmonary disease that is commonly called chronic bronchitis. To diagnose that disease, we use a test called spirometry that measures lung capacity. This is the test I gave you. In your case, the results indicate that you do not have this disease now, but some of the data suggest that tobacco is causing some changes in your lungs.

These values - FVC, FEV ₁ , FEV _25-75 - indicate that you have lost part of the capacity you had to exhale air, specifically, you have lost about..........%.

Tobacco also accelerates the usual aging of the lungs. This effect can be seen in this "lung age" value, which is....... years.

In summary, although at this time, given your results, we would not say you are sick, looking at the rest of the data, the best thing for your health is to stop smoking as soon as possible."