Join our April webinar

Tuesday 22nd April 2026 (12 - 1:30pm) on Microsoft Teams

SCAH is running a Webinar for Local Authorities & Community Stop Smoking Services designed specifically for community practitioners, service managers, commissioners, and public health leaders. The session will spotlight innovation, share best practice, and accelerate local progress toward a smokefree future. 

Agenda 

Welcome by Heidi Croucher, Founder and Joint Lead Convenor, SCaH. 

Russ Moody, Health & Wellbeing Programme Lead, OHID We are pleased to welcome Russ who will provide updates on the current national picture, including the LA Community Grant (2026-2029) and on the Tobacco and Vapes Bill.

Hilary Wareing, Managing Director, Improving Performance in Practice (iPiP) We are delighted to welcome Hilary who will provide expert insight on the new Local Authority Self‑Assessment and maximising use of available tools and frameworks to end smoking.

Smokefree Generation Funding in Action: Successful strategies for reducing health inequalities and practical pathways to achieving a 5% smoking prevalence rate We will hear from local areas, highlighting real‑world examples of areas who have rolled-out innovative service models that have achieved exceptional reach among groups traditionally hardest to engage:

• Kirklees Community Mental Health Orla Madden, Smoking Cessation Pathway Development Lead, Kirklees Wellbeing Service.
• Birmingham Rough Sleepers Keiran Mckenzie, Adults Team Service Lead, Public Health Division, Birmingham City Council (with Dr Mary Ilesanmi and Rachel Emmerich). 
• Dorset's targeted approach to engage a wider range of communities Sam Harvey, Behaviour Change Team Manager, LiveWell Dorset.

Martin Lever, Joint Lead Convenor, SCaH Martin will provide details of how to join the new SCaH Community Smoking Cessation Knowledge Exchange Hub. Learn more about our K-Hub that will feature guest speakers, opportunities to share and learn and provide peer support. 

Q&A

Please register for the webinar by completing the form below.

Essential updates for the smoking cessation community: Partial Agonists in Secondary Care, and Community Hubs.

Tuesday 24th March 2026.

A Partial Agonist (Cystisinicline and Varenicline) Recap 

Heidi Croucher, Founder and Joint Lead Convenor, SCaH.

As partial agonists return to the forefront of treatment options, we’ll provide an accessible overview including:

• How partial agonists work and why they’re effective
• Safety and suitability considerations
• Evidence supporting their use in routine cessation care

A great refresher for all frontline professionals

Smoking Cessation Service (Advanced Pharmacy) – Key Changes 

Rob Hebdon, Senior Policy Lead – Pharmacy Clinical Strategy, Primary Care & Community Services, NHS England.

Pharmacy teams play a crucial role in the next phase of our Smokefree strategy. This segment outlined:

• Updates to the Advanced Pharmacy Smoking Cessation Service
• Referral pathways and best-practice approaches
• Support tools being rolled out to enhance quit success rates

PGD Support for Partial Agonists & the New Smoke Free Offer 

Louise Ross, Clinical Consultant (NCSCT) and Stop Smoking Lead, Smoke Free Digital.

Louise gave an update on the new Patient Group Direction (PGD) support, making partial agonists more accessible across clinical settings.

Topics include:

• PGD framework and training requirements
• How the new Smoke Free offer integrates medication support
• Practical tips for implementation across services

Embedding Partial Agonists into Outpatient, Peri‑Operative & ED Pathways Martin Lever, SCaH Joint Lead Convenor.

As part of the NHS 10-Year Plan, a key focus in 2026 will be to expand support beyond primary care. Martin outlined:

• How hospitals can initiate partial agonists during outpatient visits
• Peri‑operative benefits, including improved surgical outcomes
• Opportunities for brief interventions and prescribing in Emergency Departments

This session aims to support consistent adoption across secondary care.

Community Hubs: A 10‑Year Vision for Smoking Cessation 

Darush Attar-Zadeh Clinical Fellow Respiratory Lead pharmacist in NW London. Primary Care Respiratory Society (PCRS) Executive Chair. Co-Chair Task Force Medicines Optimisation Committee and part of the IPCRG teaching faculty for treating Tobacco Dependence and Asthma Right Care. 

Darush explored the role of Community Hubs within the long-term Smokefree strategy. Topics include:

• How hubs can serve as accessible, non‑clinical touchpoints
• Integration with wider wellbeing and prevention programmes
• Opportunities for local organisations to participate in future development

Interactive Q&A

Carbon Monoxide Breath Testing Beyond Cigarettes: Emerging Evidence and Best Practice in Community and Secondary Care

Tuesday, 3rd February 2026

Speakers
Louise Ross – Clinical Consultant (NCSCT) and Stop Smoking Lead, Smoke Free Digital
Heidi Croucher – Lead Convenor, Smoking Cessation and Harm Reduction (SCaH) and Lead Treating Tobacco Dependency Midwife, NHS England Prevention
Kevin Smith – Harm Reduction Practitioner, Dorset HealthCare

Session Overview

Carbon monoxide (CO) breath testing is widely recognised as a key tool in smoking cessation, but its role is expanding across community, maternity, mental health and secondary care settings. This webinar will explore emerging evidence, practical applications and real-world examples demonstrating how CO breath testing can support wider tobacco dependency treatment and harm reduction pathways.

Topics

Carbon monoxide breath testing in the community | Shisha use and carbon monoxide exposure | Cannabis use and carbon monoxide | Embedding CO breath testing within secondary care as best practice | Case study from a Dorset mental health inpatient hospital | Live Q&A session

Smoking Cessation Services for People with Serious Mental Illness: A rapid evaluation

Tuesday 9th December 2025

Speaker: Dr Jennifer Newbould, Senior Research Leader at RAND Europe and member of the Executive and Co-PPIE Lead for BRACE (The Birmingham, RAND and Cambridge Evaluation Centre, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research).

In this webinar, Jennifer presented the BRACE study, a rapid evaluation of NHS England’s stop smoking services for people with severe mental illness (SMI). 

Drawing on a mixed-methods approach, Jennifer presented findings on service delivery, measures of success, and referral pathways, and shared insights from people with lived experience of smoking and SMI. She concluded by offering recommendations for service development, policymakers, and future evaluation.

Dr Jennifer Newbould has over twenty-five years’ experience in health services research. Her work focuses on rapid evaluation, primary care and patient experience. Dr Newbould currently co-leads the Drug Strategy Investment in Treatment And Recovery (D-SITAR) Evaluation (with Ms Lucy Strang, RAND Europe) and the CONCORD: Coordinated Care of Rare Diseases study (with Prof Stephen Morris, University of Cambridge). She is Principle-Investigator on the smoking cessation for people with serious mental illness project.

SCaH  partnered with Viatris for a six-part webinar series titled (C2C). This series was designed to deepen knowledge of smoking cessation through nicotine analogue therapies. 

Led by expert speakers Martin Lever (Smoking Cessation & Health Conference Joint Lead Convenor) and Heidi Croucher (Founder & Joint Lead Convenor of SCaH), the series offers valuable insights into innovative approaches to treating tobacco dependence, with the goal of improving patient outcomes and transforming clinical practices.