An evaluation of a pilot capacity building initiative for smoking cessation in social and community services: the Smoking Care project.

Introduction And Aims: New strategies are required to reach subpopulations with high smoking rates. This study reports on an evaluation of the Smoking Care intervention-a 2-year organisational capacity building strategy--for social and community service organisations (SCSOs) to provide smoking care to clients.

Design And Methods: The Smoking Care intervention consisted of: awareness raising seminars (half-day); smoking cessation training (1 day) and; nicotine replacement therapy grants (3 months).

Enabling the NSW health workforce to provide evidence-based smoking-cessation advice through competency-based training delivered via video conferencing.

Tobacco-related disease is estimated to cost the NSW health system more than $476 million in direct health care costs annually. Population-based smoking-cessation interventions, including brief intervention by health professionals, are effective and cost effective. As the prevalence of smoking in the general community declines, more highly dependent 'treatment-resistant' smokers may present a challenge to the health system.