Tobacco quitlines in the United States.

Tobacco use is the number one preventable cause of death and disability in the United States today. In 2003, the Interagency Committee on Smoking and Health recommended to establish a federally funded national tobacco quitline network by 2005. Quitlines are telephone-based programs that assist tobacco users to quit. The combination of health professionals referring patients to an accessible, evidence-based, cost-effective cessation resource can produce a substantial reduction in the number of tobacco users in the United States. Initiatives to increase knowledge and working relationships between nurses and quitlines need to be created, implemented, and evaluated.