Health & social care professionals: make every contact count.
You see thousands of patients a year. A 30-second conversation from the right person, at the right moment, is one of the most powerful stop-smoking interventions in medicine. Here’s how to deliver it - and how to refer into QuitRight Waltham Forest in under a minute.
You are the most trusted person in the quit equation.
Research consistently shows that a brief conversation from a GP, nurse, midwife, pharmacist, dentist, health visitor, housing officer or social worker is one of the single most effective tobacco-cessation interventions we have - more powerful than any leaflet or ad campaign.
This page gives you the training videos, the exact wording, and the direct referral route into our specialist service. Everything on this page is free. No form-filling. No jargon.
Six short videos - made for Waltham Forest clinicians.
Designed to be watched in the gaps between appointments. Each video is under a few minutes. Watch in any order.
What is tobacco - and the different types
A quick primer on tobacco products you’ll see in practice: cigarettes, roll-ups, shisha, smokeless tobacco (paan, gutka), and heated tobacco.
The health effects of tobacco use
What smoking actually does to the cardiovascular, respiratory, and metabolic systems - and why quitting works at any age.
Tobacco use in Waltham Forest - who is most at risk?
Local prevalence, health inequalities, and the specific communities in Waltham Forest where smoking and smokeless tobacco rates remain high.
Very Brief Advice (VBA+) in practice
The 30-second intervention every health and care worker can deliver. Ask, Advise, Act - demonstrated in a Waltham Forest clinical setting.
Treatments and support we offer
What your patients actually get when you refer them: medication, vapes (Swap to Stop), behavioural support and follow-up. Walk-through of the service.
How do I refer a patient to Quit Right Waltham Forest?
Three ways to refer in under a minute: online, by phone, or by asking the patient to self-refer via WhatsApp. We take it from there.
Videos produced by Quit Right Waltham Forest - a Queen Mary University of London initiative. Hosted on quitrightth.org.
Very Brief Advice on Smoking (VBA+)
VBA is a NICE-recommended, evidence-based intervention that takes less than a minute and measurably triggers quit attempts. Quit Right Waltham Forest implements the VBA model as recommended by NICE and the National Centre for Smoking Cessation and Training (NCSCT), and delivers free VBA training to local health professionals and organisations across the borough.
- Takes under a minute in a routine consultation
- Does not require you to motivate, convince or lecture
- Triggers around a 40% increase in quit attempts vs. no advice
- Free NCSCT VBA training for your team, delivered by us
MECC - not just for clinicians.
Making Every Contact Count is a public-health approach built on a simple idea: staff across health, care, local authorities and the voluntary sector have thousands of contacts every day with individuals - and are ideally placed to support their wellbeing with a few well-chosen words.
MECC is for everyone. It is not restricted to one profession or organisation. The MECC e-learning programme takes only a few minutes per session and is designed to slot into busy workloads, not add to them.
- For GPs, nurses, midwives, pharmacists, dentists, health visitors
- For social workers, housing officers, benefits advisors
- For community, faith and voluntary sector workers
- For anyone in Waltham Forest who sees people face-to-face
Three ways to refer a patient into QuitRight Waltham Forest.
All referrals are triaged within 2 working days. There is no waiting list.
1. Online booking
Book your patient directly into our clinic in under a minute. Pick a free slot, enter their details, done.
Book on their behalf2. Phone us directly
Clinic bookings line, answered Monday to Friday, 9am–5pm. We will triage while you are on the call.
0800 169 19433. Ask them to WhatsApp us
The lowest-friction option for patients. Print our WhatsApp number, say a few words, and let them self-refer in their own time.
+44 7438 556 212Want free VBA training for your practice, pharmacy or team?
Our specialists deliver free, tailored training sessions to Waltham Forest health and care organisations - in person or online. Contact us and we’ll arrange a slot that works for your team.