The UK National Smoking Cessation Conference is the world¹s largest annual gathering of smoking cessation practitioners.

Attracting over 500 delegates, the conference is a unique forum for discussing all aspects of the theory and practice of helping people stop smoking. The programme includes presentations from leading scientists and practitioners from the UK, Europe, America and New Zealand.

In 2006, the conference was at the stunning Sage Gateshead music and conference centre. From the links above you can access a comprehensive archive of photographs, abstracts, powerpoint presentations, notes and reports.

Top UK and international speakers

Presentations covered:

• Understanding lapse and relapse
• Help with stopping smoking: who’s asking for it? who needs it?
• Smoke-free public places: implications for smoking cessation services
• Smokeless tobacco: problems and opportunities
• Behavioural support: the state of the art
• Harm reduction and the role of NRT

Parallel sessions
In addition to keynote plenary sessions, a variety of parallel workshops, discussions, paper presentations and sponsored symposia were scheduled throughout the event, offering delegates an opportunity to explore in depth a range of issues.

Conference venue
The Sage Gateshead is a stunning £70 million landmark building on Tyneside, forming the heart of an exciting project to regenerate the area’s river frontage. The site is adjacent to the Stirling Prize-winning Gateshead Millennium Bridge and the Tyne Bridge with its great arch echoed in the shell-like form of The Sage Gateshead’s roof. The spectacular concourse has river views of the Tyne and Gateshead Millennium Bridges, BALTIC gallery and the Newcastle Gateshead Quays.

Conference planning group:

Programme directors:
Andy McEwen, Senior Research Nurse, Cancer Research UK Health Behaviour Unit, University College London, and
Hayden McRobbie, Research Fellow, Clinical Trials Research Unit, School of Population Health, University of Auckland.

Programme committee:
Miriam Armstrong, Pharmacy Health Link, RPSGB;
Deborah Arnott, Action on Smoking & Health (ASH);
Steve Crone, QUIT;
Linda Durgan, All Wales Smoking Cessation Service;
Trish Grierson, Dumfries and Galloway Primary Care NHS Trust;
Prof. Peter Hajek, Tobacco Dependence Research & Treatment Centre, Barts and the London Queen Mary’s School of Medicine & Dentistry;
Jean King, Behaviour Research & Tobacco Control, Cancer Research UK;
Gerry McElwee, ASH Northern Ireland;
Ann McNeill, Independent Consultant in Public Health, Hon. Senior Research Fellow, University College London;
Lesley Owen, National Institute for Clinical Excellence;
Gay Sutherland, Maudsley Hospital Smoking Cessation Clinic;
Prof. Robert West, Cancer Research UK Health Behaviour Unit, University College London;
Ben Youdan, No Smoking Day.

Conference partners:
Action on Smoking & Health (ASH);
ASH Scotland;
ASH Wales;
ASH Northern Ireland;
Association for the Treatment of Tobacco Use and Dependence (ATTUD);
British Medical Association;
Cancer Research UK;
No Smoking Day;
Pharmacy Health Link;
Pip Mason Consultancy;
QUIT;
Royal College of Nursing;
Society for the Study of Addiction.

To download the final conference programme + floorplan (in pdf format), please click here