The trial reported by Aveyard et al1 in a recent issue of Thorax is a welcome illustration that primary care nurses are not being trained properly to deliver the behavioural support aspects of smoking cessation. However, the paper seems to miss this point and instead concludes that “Primary care smoking cessation treatment should provide pharmacotherapy with sufficient support only to ensure it is used appropriately, and those in need of support should be referred to specialists”.

We know …