Introduction: Tobacco use in mentally ill patients is comparatively high than the general population. A nurse-managed smoking cessation intervention can increase cessation rates for hospitalized patients. However, many perceived barriers limit their capacity in providing tobacco cessation counseling. Aim: This study aims to assess the nurses’ perceived barriers in tobacco cessation counseling and their ability to tailor the counseling method. Methods: A cross-sectional research design was selected. The sample size was 90 with a response rate of 78 (86.7%).Nurses working in the mental health department in a multi-specialty hospital, Bengaluru, India, were selected by purposive sampling technique. Items for assessing the barriers limiting cessation counseling was extracted from a self-administered “Smoking - Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices” scale. Frequency and percentage were used for statistical analysis. Results: A majority of the nurses perceived “lack of time”, “lack of training” and “other health problems requiring attention” as a “very important” barriers; “patients not interested”, “patients do not comply”, “lack of impact on patients”, “lack of patient education material”, “lack of community resources to refer patients” and “complexity of smoking cessation guidelines” as “somewhat important” barriers; and “lack of reimbursement” as “only slightly important” barriers limiting the capacity to provide tobacco counseling services. Also, a majority agreed on their ability to tailor cessation counseling according to the patients’ needs. Conclusion: Nurses encounter many barriers of varying importance in providing tobacco cessation counseling. However, they agree with their ability to tailor counseling according to individual needs. The health care system should control the barriers and empower the nurses in implementing tobacco cessation counseling.

Keywords: Perceived barriers; Tobacco cessation; Counseling, Nurses; Ability and Mental illness.