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Nurses from across eastern Ontario are in Ottawa to learn new skills to use in their efforts to help patients stop smoking.
The workshop is being held at the Richelieu-Vanier community centre, and is sponsored by the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario.
Research has shown that even a three-minute conversation with a nurse about smoking has a positive impact on quitting.
Gloria Cunningham, who has worked in cardiac rehabilitation for the last 15 years, said Friday it's not easy approaching patients about their smoking.
"The problem is just asking. You just have to ask, and if they say, 'I smoke,' then get them [going] in the right direction," Cunningham said.
"So the hope is that by giving nurses and health-care professionals the confidence to do those brief interventions that they will take that step," said Joyce Hodgins, a facilitator at the workshop.
She said 20 per cent of Ontarians smoke.
"And so that is a large number of people that still have the health impacts related to using tobacco," she said.
Half of those people want to quit, she said, but often fail in spite of trying several times.
Research shows that front-line health professionals like nurses can make a difference, and it's usually just by talking to patients about quitting.
"It always has been a passion [of] mine, and we hope to get rid of smokers one at a time," Cunningham laughed.
There were 50 nurses at Friday's workshop, but 500 nurses have attended workshops across Ontario.