• A quarter of surveyed NHS Trusts lack mandatory smoking cessation training, with two offering none at all.
• Training renewal policies vary widely, with some trusts recommending updates only every five years and others having no requirements.
• Fragmented vaping policies lead to inconsistent messaging on its role as a smoking cessation tool.
• Industry questions whether smoking cessation should be a mandatory part of  the healthcare training curriculum.
• New online resource provides health professionals and smokers with evidence-based guidance on vaping.

A new Freedom of Information (FOI) investigation has revealed an inconsistent approach to how medical professionals are trained to support patients in quitting smoking.

The research, which looked at FOI data from 17 NHS Trusts across the UK – representing over 150 hospitals – has highlighted significant gaps that could hinder ambitions for a smokefree future.

It found that, while most of the respondents offer some form of smoking cessation training, at least 25% have not made it mandatory and two provide no training at all.

These discrepancies also extend to training renewal policies, with some Trusts requiring annual refreshers, while others only recommending updates every five years. Several have no requirements whatsoever.

The investigation also assessed whether NHS Trusts offer guidance to medical personnel on smoking cessation tools such as nicotine gums, patches, lozenges, sprays and vaping products. While most respondents said they provide information on these tools, one admitted to offering no advice on vaping products and another said it does not provide guidance on any of the listed cessation methods.

When asked about their stance on recommending and providing vaping as a stop smoking tool for patients:

• Two trusts explicitly stated they do not recommend or provide vaping products
• Four said they lack a formal policy
• Six confirmed they recommend or provide vaping products in some capacity
• Three said they recommend vapes but do not have a formal policy in place
• One Trust allows vaping devices to be charged on-site but did not confirm a recommendation policy
• One, the Greater Glasgow NHS Board, said it is awaiting national guidelines but acknowledged patients’ right to choose vaping as a cessation tool

To help bridge this gap, the UK Vaping Industry Association – which commissioned the FOI research – has launched its Healthcare Hub; a dedicated online resource offering evidence-based materials to help health professionals guide patients through the transition from smoking to vaping.

The association also recently organised a webinar which brought together experts from public health, research, and tobacco harm reduction to explore how we can better equip healthcare professionals with the information to confidently discuss vaping with their patients.

Said UKVIA Director General John Dunne: “It’s encouraging to see that many NHS trusts provide some form of smoking cessation training, but the inconsistency uncovered by this FOI data highlights the need for a more consistent national strategy to effectively tackle the public health crisis caused by smoking.

“Every healthcare professional should be equipped to help smokers quit – whether through vaping or another evidence-based method. That’s why we asked whether smoking cessation should be a mandatory part of healthcare training in our recent ‘Clearing the air’ webinar.

He continued: “As the Government considers an all-out ban on vape advertising and sponsorship, it is also critical that trusts adopt a consistent, pragmatic policy towards vaping and that healthcare professionals are armed with the information they need to talk to their patient about making the switch. How many quit attempts – and years of life – are being lost because of misperceptions about vaping?”

Research from Brunel University London previously found the cash-strapped NHS could save more than £500 million annually if just half of England’s smokers transitioned to vaping.

The Khan review – a government-commissioned report which lays out key recommendations to make smoking obsolete – said healthcare professionals should be provided with accurate information on vaping so they can ‘promote the benefits’ of making the switch and ‘dismantle longstanding myths’.

It also said healthcare professionals should use every ‘teachable moment’ to deliver ‘very brief advice’ on quitting, saying this ‘should form part of revised core training curriculums’.

An infographic breaking down key study findings and other key evidence can be accessed here: Ensuring the healthcare community is armed with the facts about vaping.pdf