Introduction:
According to the World Health Organization, tobacco kills more than 8 million people each year, including an estimated 1.3 million non-smokers who are exposed to second-hand smoke. The potential of nurses in preventative healthcare has mostly been untapped. The general purpose of the program is to train the nurses of the general and psychiatric hospitals of Attica in smoking cessation techniques. In addition, the aim is to raise nurses’ awareness of their smoking habits.

Methodology:
A total of 25 nurses participated from four hospitals in Attica: two Psychiatric hospitals (Eginitio Hospital and “Dafni” Psychiatric Hospital of Attica) and two General Hospitals (Athens “Evangelismos” General Hospital and Athens General State Hospital “Georgios Gennimatas”). The meetings with the trainers were every week, online. The study and training material and the trainees' evaluation questionnaires were available on the e-class platform of KEDIVIM of EKPA.

Results:
Twenty-three out of 25 fellows completed the program, completing all weekly assessment-comprehension tests. 68% of participants report that they are very satisfied with the smoking cessation education material. All respondents report that after their training, they will try to help patients reduce or stop smoking and that they feel confident about providing the counseling (76% enough or very confident). Of the smokers (n=10), 90% reported that they were affected in terms of their smoking habits.

Conclusions:
According to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) standards, nurses should discuss smoking cessation with their patients. This is an important public health responsibility, but to carry it out, nurses must understand the causes and barriers to quitting smoking and be aware of the available options for patient support.