Pharmacist Advanced Training Microcredentials | Tobacco Cessation On-Demand 5.5 credit hours

This case-based training prepares pharmacists to support patients through evidence-based tobacco cessation strategies, behavioral counseling, and individualized treatment planning. 

Designed as a microcredential program, this course awards a digital badge upon successful completion and emphasizes practical application through real-world patient cases and clinical decision-making. 

The program focuses on helping pharmacists confidently identify tobacco use, assess readiness to quit, and recommend appropriate pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic interventions to support long-term cessation success. 

Topics covered include:

  • Current trends in tobacco and nicotine use, including vaping and alternative nicotine products  
  • Evidence-based tobacco cessation therapies and treatment guidelines  
  • Patient assessment and readiness-to-quit strategies  
  • Case-based application of nicotine replacement therapy and prescription medications  
  • Behavioral counseling and motivational interviewing techniques  
  • Management of relapse, adherence challenges, and follow-up care  
  • Special considerations for patients with chronic disease states or complex medication regimens  
  • Workflow strategies for implementing tobacco cessation services in pharmacy practice  

Pharmacists will also develop skills in creating patient-centered cessation plans, monitoring treatment progress, addressing barriers to quitting, and supporting sustained behavior change through follow-up care and counseling. 

This training is designed to help pharmacists expand clinical service offerings, improve patient outcomes, and strengthen their role in preventive care and chronic disease management. 

Earn your microcredential and build confidence in delivering evidence-based tobacco cessation support – enroll today.

Tobacco Cessation - Pharmacist

Claim Your Badge

You will receive an email from Credly (our credential partner), after you complete the course, inviting you to claim your digital badge for Tobacco Cessation - Pharmacist. This will allow you to easily share your achievement with colleagues, managers, and your professional network on LinkedIn and other platforms. When you receive the email, please click the button and create an account on Credly.com so that you can “accept” the badge.

Need help? Find a step-by-step tutorial video at this link.

Module 1 - Ready to Quit: The Role of the Pharmacist

Upon successful completion of this module, pharmacists should be able to:
1. Recognize the impact of smoking on both a global and individual patient level.
2. Discuss the role of the pharmacist in promoting effective strategies for smoking cessation.

Module 2 - Ready to Discover: What is Smoking

Upon successful completion of this module, pharmacists should be able to:
1. Recall the three distinct aspects of smoking.
2. Support a patient in recognizing the interrelated behaviors associated with smoking.

Module 3 - Ready to Cope: Dealing with Cravings

Upon successful completion of this module, pharmacists should be able to:
1. Describe cognitive and behavioral coping techniques to quit smoking.
2. Recommend strategies to assist a patient in quitting smoking.

Module 4 - Ready to Motivate: Decreasing Barriers to Quitting

Upon successful completion of this module, pharmacists should be able to:
1. Identify common motivators and barriers to quitting smoking.
2. Illustrate how to dispel a barrier to quitting smoking using factual data.

Module 5 - Ready to Recommend: OTC Products for Smoking Cessation

Upon successful completion of this module, pharmacists should be able to:
1. Identify common motivators and barriers to quitting smoking
2. Illustrate how to dispel a barrier to quitting smoking using factual data

Module 6 - Ready to Recommend: Prescription Medications for Smoking Cessation

Upon successful completion of this module, pharmacists should be able to:
1. Review the indications, dosing, and usage instructions for prescription smoking cessation medications.
2. Formulate questions to determine the most appropriate prescription smoking cessation product for a given patient.

Module 7 - Ready to Counsel: Thinking of Quitting

Upon successful completion of this module, pharmacists should be able to:
1. Describe the various components of the stages of change model.
2. Determine ways to help someone seriously consider quitting smoking.

Module 8 - Ready to Counsel: The Quit Attempt

Upon successful completion of this module, pharmacists should be able to:
1. Outline the major components of a successful quitting plan.
2. Create an individualized quitting plan for a patient who is ready to quit smoking.

Module 9 - Ready to Counsel: Maintaining the Quit

Upon successful completion of this module, pharmacists should be able to:
1. Articulate the role of the pharmacist in helping recent quitters stay quit.
2. Counsel a patient who is attempting to stay quit permanently.

Module 10 - Ready to Counsel: Dealing with Relapse

Upon successful completion of this module, pharmacists should be able to:
1. Define “slip” and “relapse” within the context of smoking.
2. Discuss strategies to help a patient regroup after a relapse.

Module 11 - Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS)

Upon successful completion of this module, pharmacists should be able to:
1. Describe the various electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) currently on the market.
2. Review the safety concerns related to ENDS and their use in smoking cessation.
3. Discuss the marketing and regulatory landscape surrounding ENDS.

Faculty

Francis M. Vitale, MA

Disclosures:

Francis M. Vitale has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose.

Course Details