Most U.S. hospitals do not have tobacco cessation teams and most cardiologists do not assist patients in attempts to quit tobacco, with only one in five referring patients for tobacco cessation support, although it is critical posthospitalization, according to results of an ACC survey published Dec. 12, 2025, in JACC: Advances. Policy changes are necessary to increase availability of such programs for patients.

Members of the Smoking Cessation and Prevention Work Group of ACC's Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease Member Section Council developed and electronically administered a 27-question survey to 498 cardiologists through ACC's CardioSurve program. Data were collected between Oct. 13, 2023, through Nov. 12, 2023. The survey was voluntary and confidential and there were no incentives. The expected response rate was achieved, with 100 respondents completing the survey. Most were male (83%), White (61%) and mid- or late-career cardiologists (60%). Most respondents (86%) were never smokers.

The primary outcome was the prevalence of inpatient tobacco cessation teams for cardiovascular patients in the U.S. Secondary outcomes included modifiers influencing the primary outcome, patterns in tobacco cessation prescription and identification of areas for improvement in tobacco dependence management.

While most (92%) respondents reported screening for cigarette use, only 20% routinely referred patients for additional tobacco cessation support. Additionally, 74% of respondents reported occasionally prescribing the nicotine patch, yet few ever used varenicline (31%) or bupropion (28%). Only 12% reported working at a hospital with an inpatient smoking cessation team, but almost half (41%) showed expressed interest in developing such a program. Commonly reported barriers to the development of a smoking cessation program included administrative, financial and time constraints.

Priyanka Satish, MBBS, FACC, et al., describe tobacco cessation as "arguably the most effective strategy to decrease the risk of recurrent events among patients hospitalized with [cardiovascular] disease." They write that "this survey characterizes existing practice patterns among cardiologists and explores the potential for ACC to support cardiologists in this endeavor. In addition, it highlights the critical need for support at a health care policy and hospital system level to increase availability of this important service."