Training for health professionals

Tobacco addiction, for the majority of smokers, requires repeated and persistent effort to overcome.

Evidence shows that many professionals in health and education settings can deliver effective smoking cessation interventions. There is also increased success when a variety of professionals co-operate in giving advice, support and follow-up.

The important role of health professionals

Tobacco smoking is the largest preventable cause of death, disease, illness and disability in Australia. Many of the adverse health effects of smoking are reversible by cessation. Research shows that health professionals play an important role in interventions to encourage more quit attempts and to increase success rates.

Training for health professionals

Depending on professional requirements and availability, Quit has a range of training programs that can be offered to health professionals.

Online learning for health professionals

Quit Victoria has developed online learning training programs for health professionals to assist those with time and distance constraints and to create further access to our training. This training is free.

Doctors

Quit can help doctors provide high quality smoking cessation assistance.

Dentists

General practice dentists are health professionals that are ideally placed to deliver smoking cessation advice to their patients.

Pharmacists

Quit's Health Professionals' Program strongly links in with peak health professional organisations. We encourage participation at the local level by supporting health professionals, including pharmacists and their staff, to advise smokers to quit and provide them with information and support.

Optometrists

The Optometrists Association Victoria and Quit Victoria are collaborating to provide support to patients who smoke to encourage them to quit.

Mental health professionals

Quit provides professional development sessions on smoking and mental illness for community groups and organisations.

Chiropractors

The Chiropractors Association of Australia (Victoria) Ltd aims for the best possible health outcomes for its clients who smoke and to that end have formed a partnership with Quit Victoria.