To the Editors:

The article “Tobacco Dependence Curricula in Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Education” by Heath et al (January 2002:27–33) raised a great deal of personal concern regarding the inadequate content and extent of tobacco education curricula in acute care nurse practitioner (ACNP) programs. Of utmost concern to me is that these educational programs are not consistently using nationally accepted guidelines to provide a basis for their curricula. As reported in the article, only 40% of ACNP programs surveyed reported using the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality guidelines for smoking cessation as a curriculum reference. As I struggle to find my role as an intensive care nurse and family nurse practitioner student in helping patients to quit smoking, I can appreciate the introduction of a uniform guideline upon which to base my practice.

Hopefully, the publication of the most recent guideline, Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence: A Clinical Practice...

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