Training resources
There are a range of training resources available to support staff in implementing NHS Tobacco Dependence Treatment Services. Commissioners and service leads should ensure that high-quality, regular training is provided to professionals delivering tobacco dependency services within each Trust.
General training and guidance
Sets out the standard of smoking cessation training recommended for healthcare professionals treating tobacco dependency.
NHS-NCCST Competency Frameworks for Tobacco Dependence
The competency frameworks for Tobacco Dependence identifies the competencies (knowledge and skills) required by both frontline staff, staff involved in prescribing/dispensing nicotine replacement therapy, and Tobacco Dependence Advisors (TDAs) or other staff delivering specialist tobacco dependence treatment in the inpatient, maternity and mental health setting.
Inpatient Tobacco Dependence Treatment: Best Practices and Key Messages
This document summarises best practice and provides key messages for tobacco dependence treatment in inpatient settings. These key messages were developed by national experts to assist with standardising the way we describe and treat tobacco dependence in the inpatient setting across trusts, and among partner organisations.
NHS Standard Treatment Plan (STP) for Inpatient Tobacco Dependence
This NHS Standard Treatment Plan (STP) for Inpatient Tobacco Dependence provides guidance to support delivery of the Inpatient Tobacco Dependence Treatment Care Bundles. The STP is designed to ensure patients receive a consistent and evidence-based tobacco dependence support that provides them with the best possible chance of having a smokefree hospital admission and a goal of long-term abstinence.
NHS Standard Treatment Plan (STP) for Tobacco Dependence in Mental Health hospitals
This NHS Standard Treatment Plan (STP) has been tailored to support treatment of patient admitted to a mental health hospital and provides guidance on high quality evidence based treatment to patients to support patients with a smokefree admission, stopping or reducing smoking.
eLearning Programme: Tobacco Dependency Treatment in Acute and Mental Health Care Settings
This eLearning provides members of the admitting team and other NHS staff with training in the core competencies (knowledge and skill) for addressing tobacco use at the point of admission (Tobacco Dependence Admission Care Bundle). The eLearning consists of a 30 minute core module for all staff with optional supplemental modules covering tobacco dependence medications, mental health settings, and CO testing.
Accessible: via eLF – Coming soon
NHS Acute Inpatient Tobacco Dependence Adviser Training Resources
A comprehensive suite of training resources to support the training of Tobacco Dependence Advisors (TDAs) who work with patients hospitalised in acute trusts. The materials provide trainers with high-quality, evidence-based training resources to support local training delivery. The resources have been developed by national experts and covers the NHS-NCSCT core competencies for TDAs. The course materials support delivery of the newly published NHS-NCSCT Standard Treatment Plan for Inpatient Tobacco Dependence.
NHS Mental Health Inpatient Tobacco Dependence Adviser Training Resources
A comprehensive suite of training resources to support the training of Tobacco Dependence Advisers (TDAs) who work with patients hospitalised in mental health trusts. The materials provide trainers with high-quality, evidence-based training resources to support local training delivery. The resources have been developed by national experts and covers the NHS-NCSCT core competencies for TDAs.
This resource was developed by staff working on the CURE tobacco dependency project project in Greater Manchester. It outlines the use of pharmacotherapy and e-cigarettes in treating tobacco dependency, along with training needs & specialist courses.
National Centre for Smoking Cessation and Training (NCSCT)
The NCSCT provides a comprehensive programme of free, online training courses for healthcare professionals. Their training resources include:
- Stop Smoking Practitioner training and assessment programme (National Certification) designed to enable healthcare professionals to utilise evidence-based behavioural techniques and practical interventions. NCSCT national training standard
- Specialist certification courses for practitioners supporting persons with mental health conditions and pregnant and post-partum women with stopping smoking
- Additional training modules covering Very Brief Advice (VBA) and secondhand smoke in primary care, community and maternity settings
The NCSCT also provides an extensive collection of online, written briefings to support practitioners in providing smoking cessation interventions.
E-learning for healthcare (e-lfh)
Provides free online training on delivering very brief advice on smoking.
BTS webinar: Plan the Programme/Education & Training (March 2022)
This webinar sets out the planning process from a project manager perspective and a training initiation overview to highlight the importance of educating staff to support the programme.
View webinar recording and download slides here
ASH & NCSCT Training needs survey 2023
This report presents findings from a survey of over 100 professionals responsible for tobacco dependency treatment training across NHS acute, maternity and mental health settings.
NHS inpatient tobacco treatment service: training needs analysis and recommendations – March 2023
This report provides guidance on the design of high-quality training resources to support the rollout of the NHS tobacco treatment pathway in inpatient settings.
Stop Smoking Medication and vapes
Speciality training resources for maternity settings
Smoking In Pregnancy Challenge Group
Provides information on training resources healthcare professionals supporting pregnant women to quit smoking.
The E-learning For Healthcare (e-lfh) Smokefree Pregnancy and Smokefree Families Programme
E-lfh provide an online training (e-learning) programme which focuses on the delivery of very brief advice to pregnant women or those who have recently given birth.
National Centre for Smoking Cessation and Training e-learning and briefings:
- E-learning: Pregnancy and smoking cessation specialty module
- E-learning Very Brief Advice for Pregnant Women
- Briefing: Standard Treatment Programme for Pregnant Women
- Briefing: Stopping smoking in pregnancy: A briefing for maternity care providers
e-LfH elearning for healthcare Hub
Supporting a Smokefree Pregnancy and Smokefree Families:
This online eLearning focuses on giving very brief advice (VBA) about smoking in pregnancy and also post birth, including the use of carbon monoxide (CO) monitoring. Throughout the programme there are resources for both Midwives and Health visitors, but all are relevant across the whole Midwifery and Early Years team.
This training programme was created in partnership with Public Health England, Health Education England and the NCSCT in July 2018 and updated in June 2019.
Saving Babies’ Lives:
This Saving Babies’ Lives Care Bundle (SBLCB) eLearning was created to assist the implementation of SBLCB Version 3 in maternity units across the NHS. This training gives comprehensive information for both commissioners and providers on how to reduce perinatal mortality across England. This online eLearning brings together all six elements of improvement to care that are widely recognised as evidence based best practice for mothers and their babies.
The training programme was created in partnership with NHS England and NHS Improvement, Public Health England, Royal College of Midwives, British Intrapartum Care Society, The College of Radiographers and the British Association of Perinatal Medicine in June 2023.
Reintroduction of CO Testing in Maternity and Health Visiting Services:
This online eLearning aims to refresh the knowledge and skills of all relevant Maternity and Health Visiting staff including Midwives, Maternity Support Workers and Health Visitors in delivering very brief advice (VBA) and carbon monoxide (CO) monitoring within Maternity and Health Visiting Services.
This training programme was created by Health Education England in December 2020.
National Centre for Smoking Cessation Training NCSCT
Online training:
Very Brief Advice for Smoking for pregnant woman:
This short online training module focuses on delivering very brief advice (VBA) to pregnant women including the use of carbon monoxide (CO) monitoring. This training is aimed to all relevant maternity and Obstetric staff including Midwives and Maternity Support Workers.
This course was created by the NCSCT and updated July 2022.
This very same training course is housed on Health Education England via the following link: https://www.e-lfh.org.uk/programmes/smoking-in-pregnancy/
NCSCT specialty course on smoking cessation in pregnancy and post-partum:
This specialty course provides information on health effects of smoking in pregnancy and the post-partum period, the benefits of cessation and effective methods help pregnant women stop smoking. The course is appropriate for members of the maternity care team as well as advisors working in community who provide support to pregnant women who smoke. This course was updated in January 2024 and is updated annually. This speciality course can only be accessed when you have completed the NCSCT Certified Practitioner course and successfully passed the assessment. All NCSCT specialty courses build on the core Behaviour Change techniques (BCTs) that are covered in the NCSCT certified practitioner course.
Virtual Training Behavioural support for smoking in pregnancy (2 day course):
This two-day virtual course concentrates on identifying and overcoming barriers to quitting, and on effective behaviour change techniques (BCTs), to enable participants to develop their skills and confidence in the delivery of quality evidence-based stop smoking interventions to pregnant women.
The course covers the following BCTs in depth: building rapport, boosting motivation and self-efficacy, use of stop smoking medications, using carbon monoxide monitoring as a motivational tool, the 'not-a-puff' rule and eliciting client commitment. The course is appropriate for maternity care providers as well as practitioners in community settings who work with pregnant women. The course was last updated in 2022 and is reviewed and updated annually to ensure it reflects latest evidence-based practice.
Link to course overview is found here: https://www.ncsct.co.uk/publications/virtual-course-pregnancy
Face to Face VBA+ for Maternity Care Providers Course (1/2 day or 1-day course):
This half day course is for maternity care providers who will be delivering Very Brief Advice (VBA) as part of routine antenatal care. The course covers latest evidence on harm of smoking in pregnancy and benefits of stopping, techniques delivering high quality VBA, engaging pregnant women in treatment and treatment options available. This course was developed for front line maternity care providers and was last updated in 2019.
Local Trainer's Smoking in Pregnancy Education Series
The NCSCT was commissioned by Health Education England in 2019 to develop a 14 part education series on smoking in pregnancy. This series includes short online training modules and downloadable materials designed to support local training delivery for both Maternity and Health Visiting Services.
These modules include:
- Very Brief Advice (VBA)
- Smokefree Pregnancy: Why is it important to support women to be smokefree
- Film titled ‘A lifetime of differences: Delivering very brief advice on smoking in pregnancy makes a difference’
- Supporting smokefree pregnancy: Resources to support training for healthcare professionals
- Health Visitors: Supporting smokefree families
- Data, research and recommended practice for Health Visitors on very brief advice regarding smokefree support and practices
- Conversation with new mother including CO monitoring
- Conversation with partner including CO monitoring
- Q% A section
- Health Visitor talking with a pregnant woman
- Reintroduction of CO testing
Clinical Tools
NCSCT Standard Treatment Programme:
This NCSCT Standard Treatment Programme for Pregnant Women describes the components of a structured individual face-to-face smoking cessation intervention with a pregnant woman who smokes. The document is based on latest evidence on tailoring stop smoking support to pregnant women. The STP for pregnant women is appropriate for use by any practitioner who is delivering multi-session stop smoking support to women. The document was last updated in 2019.
Stop Smoking Mediations Quick Reference Sheet:
This quick reference clinical tool has been written by experts in the field to support stop smoking practitioners with the task of helping clients to choose the best medication for them.
Stopping Smoking in Pregnancy: A briefing for maternity care providers:
This NCSCT briefing for maternity care providers updated in 2019 gives concise and expert advice on how to deliver very brief advice (VBA+) to pregnant women who smoke and how to carry out routine carbon monoxide (CO) monitoring with all pregnant women.
Specialist training resources for mental health settings
Mental Health and Smoking Partnership Training Guide
This 2-page training guide for mental health professionals sets out each professional groups’ responsibilities in the stop smoking pathway and examples of appropriate training.
National Centre for Smoking Cessation and Training e-learning and briefings:
- NHS community mental health tobacco treatment training suite
- E-learning: mental health specialty module
- Briefing: Smoking cessation and smokefree policies - Good practice for mental health services
NHS-NCSCT Two-day specialist courses in tobacco dependence treatment for Community Mental Health
NHS and NCCST will run four two-day training courses in 2023/2024 for tobacco dependence advisors who are part of the NHS Early Implementer Sites for Community Mental Health pathway. For more information on courses and to register please contact: Tom Coleman (Tom@ncsct.co.uk)
Speciality training resources for pharmacy settings
National Centre for Smoking Cessation and Training e-learning and briefings: