Smoking is not a lifestyle choice but a chronic relapsing condition needing treatment. This is recognised by the government's commitment for the NHS in England to become smokefree. Supporting smokers in contact with the healthcare system to quit is a prevention priority in the NHS Long Term Plan and every health and care professional has a role to play.

    
As a healthcare professional, you are best placed to motivate and support smokers on their quit journey. Smokers expect healthcare professionals to ask about their smoking.

All healthcare professionals should identify and refer smokers using the method known as Very Brief Advice (VBA) which has 3 components - 'Ask, Advise and Act':

   
1.      Ask and record smoking status: is the patient a smoker, ex-smoker or non-smoker?
2.      Advise on the best way of quitting: the best way of stopping smoking is with a combination of stop smoking aids and specialist support.
3.      Act on patient response: build confidence, give information, refer and prescribe.
    
Different approaches suit different people so if the first thing a smoker tries does not help, they should try another way. We've published guidance HERE to support you in your conversations with patients on what method to choose.

All health and care professionals should be:

   
*         aware of latest guidance and interventions on supporting people to stop smoking
*         able to access learning and development opportunities to support smokers to quit
*         able to support smokers to access local referral and care pathways to stop smoking support
*         able to provide feedback to local commissioners and providers where services are working well and where there are problems accessing support for smokers who want to quit.

  

Here are the questions that we will be exploring during this tweetchat:

  
Question 1:
Why is it important in your specific role to ask people about their smoking status?
What opportunities do you have to deliver very brief advice on smoking?

Question 2:
How are you going to increase your knowledge and confidence to talk to patients about their smoking?
[Have you completed the free NCSCT online module on providing very brief advice?]

Question 3:
Do you know how to refer smokers in your area for specialist support to quit?

Question 4:
What can we do to embed the treatment of tobacco dependency into our services?

Question 5:
What one action can you take to help your patients stop smoking following this Tweetchat?

Smoking and tobacco can be quite an emotive topic, especially in social media spaces.  Our top tips for engaging in sensitive topics in social media are:

• Think before you post
• Respect other people's perspectives
• It's ok to disagree but do so professionally
• Remember social media is a conversation and no post / comment should be taken in isolation
• Ask for clarification / context to someone's post if needed 
• Remember just because social media is instant this doesn't mean you have to be