The purpose of the workshop is to meet the following participants’ learning objectives: 1) Have updated knowledge of global and regional burden of tobacco use. 2) Know the local and global (WHO FCTC) policy initiatives for tobacco control. 3) Know the evidence-base for policy and health provider effectiveness in tobacco use treatment (5As/2As & R). 4) Understand the basics of nicotine dependence and the evidence-base for effectiveness of pharmacotherapy. 5) Know and apply the elements of brief Motivational Interviewing in behavioral therapy for tobacco use treatment. Background Tobacco use is a significant risk factor for several diseases (e.g. oral cancer, lung cancer, stroke, coronary heart disease, TB, asthma, etc.) and a leading cause of death in the world. Currently, it is estimated that the use of tobacco causes more than 5 million deaths per year and projected that this will rise to over 8 million deaths annually by 2030. 70% of these deaths will occur in developing countries. Furthermore, about 25% of the TB mortality in Africa has been attributed to tobacco use, and thus threatens meeting related Millennium Development Goal (MGD). Tobacco control is relatively new in Africa and plays a prominent role in the fight against NCDs and several related deaths. Studies have shown that the majority of smokers want to stop, but find quitting very difficult. Support and brief advice from health care providers (HCPs) have been shown to increase quit attempts and improve chances of staying quit. However, HCPs often miss the opportunity to talk to their patients about the benefits of tobacco use cessation and many HCPs lack the required skills. To address this gap, Global Bridges - a Healthcare Alliance for Tobacco Treatment, is offering a well-coordinated and evidence-based training to HCPs as part of an effort to mobilize the global community of health care providers and organizations to make an impact on tobacco use through effective treatment and implementation of tobacco control policy. Workshop Format This one-day workshop will be interactive and will include working through case studies to facilitate application of theoretical knowledge gained from didactic teaching. The workshop will be facilitated by a leading expert in tobacco treatment in the region who would be joined by other local and international speakers from across the region. The target group includes HCPs, policy makers, health managers, health counselors, clinic managers, or any person who has continuous interactions with tobacco users. The workshop themes will include the following: 1) Burden of tobacco use and tobacco-related diseases in sub-Saharan Africa 2) History of tobacco control in Sub-Saharan Africa and the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) Article 14: Advances and challenges 3) Understanding nicotine pharmacology and nicotine dependence 4) Evidence-base for pharmacotherapy and brief behavioural intervention approaches 5) Introduction to Motivational Interviewing (MI) - Elements and core skills of MI 6) Tailoring treatment for special populations (case studies) 7) Implementation challenges and solutions for treatment delivery in Sub-Saharan Africa Sponsor: Global Bridges, AFRO region in collaboration with the University of Pretoria