Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, 60 College Street, Suite #431, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA. karen.hudmon@yale.edu
Tobacco use continues to be a public health issue of great importance. Acute and critical care nurses in particular have a unique opportunity to become a cornerstone for the nation's tobacco control efforts through integration of prevention and cessation interventions as part of patient care. This article provides readers with a working knowledge of tobacco use and dependence as background reading for the subsequent articles presented in this special issue addressing tobacco cessation in acute and critical care settings.