Introduction: research results show a decrease in cigarette smoking when preventive professional interventions are routinely carried out. The literature reports that 30 percent of hospital nurses assess their patients’ smoking habits. The objective of the present study is to compare, on medical and surgical units and with a control group, the effectiveness of three strategies (interactive educational session, recall, and both of these combined) on the number of nursing interventions to help patients to stop smoking. The design of the study was experimental, and used group randomization. Pre and post strategy multi-measurements (at one and three months) were sought from nursing staff (69) and patients and their charts (351). Results show that nursing staff assess cigarette smoking habits for only 35.7 percent of the patients, and the intention to stop smoking of only 17.6 percent. Results also show that the educational strategy increased the number of nursing interventions during a short period (one month), and decreased the perception of barriers to tobacco counselling. The impact of recall could not be assessed as it was not introduced as planned. Conclusion: considering the modest results from the strategies, the interactive educational sessions only have a short-term effect on the nursing staff’s interventions.