This review article, published in the Online Journal of Issues in Nursing has been authored by two registered nurses at the Case Western Reserve University. One of them, Narsavage, is also the Associate Dean for Academic Programs at the School of Nursing and the other, Idemoto, isa PhD student at the same school. Both have extensive experience as healthcare providers and an interest in advanced nursing practices and their outcomes. This review was conducted at the Sarah Cole Hirsh Institute of Best Nursing Practices which has been very active in collecting evidence relating to the best practices in nursing and forwarding it to people who have a direct impact on the implementation of these practices such as clinicians, faculty and policy makers. This institute also carries out its own research in areas that are lacking and conducts training programs for people in the nursing profession. The purpose of the review is to examine and evaluate the best intervention to reduce or quit smoking in patients hospitalized for cardiac and pulmonary conditions. Findings from seventy one studies are included in this review. Several studies evaluate the key role of the nurse in changing smoking behavior of the patient leading to cessation. These studies found that interviewing by nurses helped promote the willingness of the patient to quit. They also discovered that hospitalization is an ideal time for the nurses to intervene and deliver cessation related information, as at this point the patient would be highly concerned about his health and smoking related risks (window of opportunity). Counseling programs with multiple components (in-hospital and post-discharge) focus on nurses delivering the therapy (advice). Nurses also monitor routine care prevention programs for abstinence. All this highlights the importance of nurses being aware of intervention programs consisting of education and counseling as they can make a significant difference in smoking behavior and cessation when the patient wants to quit. This review article examines a number of studies conducted over a ten year period that evaluate interventions used in smoking cessation programs and determine which ones are most effective. It highlights the key role of nurses in the success of such programs and the importance of their awareness and initiative in determining prognosis. This systematic review considers Nicotine replacement therapy versus non-nicotine and behavior therapy as well as combines therapies and their short ad long term results. Overall combination therapies are the most successful, although such programs may need to be tailored according to each health center’s resources and thus made cost-effective and practical. Additionally, nurses may need to be trained to counsel patients regularly to maintain motivation and prevent relapse. This review was conducted on studies done through a ten year period (1992-2002). Surveillance included retrieving studies from reliable and comprehensive databases such as CINAHL, MedLine, the Cochrane Library and AHCPR Clinical Practice Guidelines. Only those studies that focuses on smoking cessation in hospitalized patients was included. The mortality and morbidity as