CHEST releases guideline on tobacco treatment in the inpatient setting

by American College of Chest Physicians

edited by Sadie Harley, reviewed by Andrew Zinin

Sadie Harley

Scientific Editor

Meet our editorial team
Behind our editorial process

Andrew Zinin

Chief Editor

Meet our editorial team
Behind our editorial process Editors' notes

This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

fact-checked

peer-reviewed publication

trusted source

proofread

The GIST Add as preferred source

The American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST) has released a new clinical guideline for tobacco treatment in the inpatient setting. Published in the journal CHEST, the guideline contains six evidence-based recommendations that synthesize the existing literature to inform key components of inpatient tobacco treatment.

Cigarette smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, and smoking rates are especially high among individuals of lower socioeconomic status and among hospitalized populations. Tobacco treatment interventions are among the most cost-effective strategies in health care but are often underutilized.

"When a patient is hospitalized, there is a real opportunity to initiate tobacco treatment," said Hasmeena Kathuria, M.D., lead author of the guideline.

"Our hope is that the standardized approach will help more clinicians feel comfortable providing counseling and pharmacotherapy to all hospitalized patients who smoke unless they explicitly decline and support continued treatment after discharge. Implementing these approaches is likely to improve smoking-cessation outcomes and reduce hospital readmissions."

Highlights of the recommendations include:

• In hospitalized adults who smoke cigarettes, we recommend initiating varenicline during hospitalization to promote smoking cessation following discharge.
• In hospitalized adults who currently smoke cigarettes, we recommend inpatient tobacco treatment counseling (15 or more minutes) over brief advice (less than 15 minutes).
• In hospitalized adults who currently smoke cigarettes, we recommend that inpatient tobacco treatment counseling include a referral to postdischarge tobacco treatment counseling (e.g., scheduled follow-up contact; direct or electronic health record referral to a quitline or outpatient program).

Publication details

H. Kathuria et al, Tobacco Treatment in the Inpatient Setting: An American College of Chest Physicians Clinical Practice Guideline, CHEST (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.chest.2026.08.038

Journal information: Chest

Key medical concepts

Varenicline

Clinical categories

Pulmonary medicineHospital medicinePreventive medicineCommon illnesses & PreventionHealthy living Provided by American College of Chest Physicians Who's behind this story?

Sadie Harley

BSc Life Sciences & Ecology. Microbiology lab background with pharmaceutical news experience in oil, gas, and renewable industries. Full profile →

Andrew Zinin

Master's in physics with research experience. Long-time science news enthusiast. Plays key role in Science X's editorial success. Full profile →

Citation: CHEST releases guideline on tobacco treatment in the inpatient setting (2026, October 2) retrieved 2 October 2026 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-chest-guideline-tobacco-treatment-inpatient.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.