The role of the Health Promotion Foundation in building capacity to treat tobacco dependence in Poland: past, present and future

The Health Promotion Foundation (HPF) was established in 1991 with the goal of countering Poland’s lung cancer epidemic through conducting research, building the health competence of the Polish population and organising training in smoking cessation for healthcare professionals. The HPF trained thousands of Polish doctors and nurses using as its main tool the Consensus on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Tobacco Dependence, a set of guidelines elaborated and recommended by the leading medical associations in Poland, which was distributed with support of the National Medical Chamber to each doctor in Poland. The HPF prepared a guide for smokers and healthcare providers “How to quit smoking” (Witold Zatoński) published from 1990s until now in about 1.5 million pieces. It was a sequential important element of tobacco control in Poland. At the same time, the HPF engaged in activities to increase the availability of smoking cessation drugs, and in particular disseminating the knowledge on cytisine. The HPF’s work culminated in Poland becoming the first country in Eastern Europe to launch nicotine replacement therapy, in the 1990s, as well as to register and introduce bupropion on the market.

The HPF’s comprehensive activities have already helped millions of Poles quit smoking. Its current work is focused on developing ways of engaging medical doctors in the treatment of tobacco dependence and the use of novel technologies in supporting effective cessation efforts, both on the side of providers and of patients. Especially, implementation of tobacco dependence treatment procedures into hospitals in Poland would be activity of special attention.