Information for Primary Care Settings

Research shows that smokers are three times more likely to quit with the right medical and behavioural support compared with simply going ‘cold turkey’ and trying to quit unaided. It is vital for general practices and pharmacies in Devon to provide a high quality, accessible stop smoking service for their clients.

Please use this page to find information about smoking cessation support in GP and pharmacy settings, Stop Smoking Service training, downloads of service specifications, NRT log forms, monitoring forms and guidance.

Stop Smoking Service Training

GP and pharmacy settings can access a variety of stop smoking service training including:

Please note – at least one stop smoking adviser must attend the Level 2 refresher training annually, to ensure knowledge is up to date and is cascaded to other smoking cessation advisors within the practice.

Useful information for current providers of Stop Smoking Services in GP settings:

  • All activity data must be submitted quarterly using the Public Health Smoking Cessation Data Entry Sheet (Excel spreadsheet) which is sent out to all practices via the practice manager. Completed forms should be sent to smokingcessation@devon.gov.uk. Guidance for completing these quarterly returns can be found in the latest service specification and in the video below.

Resources which may be helpful during stop smoking service consultations (but not to be returned to Public Health Devon):

  • Short Monitoring Form – (please note Public Health Devon no longer accept paper monitoring forms and the Excel spreadsheet Monitoring Form that is sent to the practice each quarter should be used)
  • Smoking Cessation Individual Client NRT Record – This document is an aid only and not required for submission to Public Health Devon. If used, please retain this form in the practice for your own records.

Useful information for current providers of Stop Smoking Services in Pharmacy settings:

Resources which may be helpful during stop smoking service consultations (but not to be returned to Public Health Devon):

Promote your in-house stop smoking service

The availability of advisors to support quitting smoking should be prominently advertised within your service using posters and resources available from Public Health England.

GP surgeries and pharmacies can also use the latest local and national campaigns  to promote smoking cessation within the local community.

All GP surgeries and pharmacies can promote the Devon Local Stop Smoking Service

If you do not have in-house smoking cessation advisors, or are unable to make convenient appointments with patients, they can refer individuals to Stop For Life Devon for support to quit smoking.

Stop For Life Devon is a local service funded by Devon County Council to offer, information, advice and guidance about smoking cessation to its residents. The free service can be accessed online and by telephone. Through coaching, support is available for people who wish to cut down or quit smoking.

GP and pharmacy settings can signpost patients to the Stop For Life service by referring through the website or via the professionals phone referral number 01392 908 139.

Specialist Stop Smoking Support Service

Devon has a specialist stop smoking service. Advisors within the specialist stop smoking team, part of the Stop For life Devon team, work with targeted populations, e.g. pregnant women.

How can my practice or pharmacy get involved in providing an in-house stop smoking service?

To find out more about providing an in-house stop smoking service in your practice, please contact Public Health on publichealth-mailbox@devon.gov.uk