[Risk factor "smoking" : smoking cessation in patients with cardiovascular diseases].

Smoking is the most frequent cause of avoidable premature death. Annually, almost 6 million people die due to nicotine consumption. Comparing modifiable cardiovascular risk factors, smoking has the strongest impact on cardiovascular mortality. More than 50% of all premature myocardial infarctions are related to nicotine consumption. Even in patients with known coronary disease receiving optimal medical therapy, there is a remarkable additional preventive effect of smoking cessation detectable. Therefore, smoking cessation is an essential component of primary and secondary prevention strategies. Smoking cessation programs applying a combination of behavior therapy and supporting medical treatment have been demonstrated to be the most effective.