Are pharmacists reducing COPD'S impact through smoking cessation and assessing inhaled steroid use?

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) COPD 2004 guidelines recommend: * COPD patients who smoke should be encouraged to stop at every opportunity; * Inhaled corticosteroid should be used only among patients with moderate to severe COPD; * Pharmacists should identify smokers and provide smoking cessation advice. The community pharmacy contract requires pharmacists to review patients' medications, creating an opportunity for reviewing the prescribing of inhaled corticosteroids in COPD. The survey explored the degree to which community pharmacists in North West England identify and provide advice to smokers and assess prescribed inhaled corticosteroids among COPD patients.