Doctors should use 'every opportunity' to talk to patients about obesity and smoking: report A routine dental check-up or eye test, for example, is a chance to offer advice to help someone stop smoking. A visit from a midwife or health visitor is an opportunity to talk about a new parent's anxieties and consider options for accessing mental health support. Collecting medication from a pharmacy is a chance to offer someone help with cutting down on alcohol. A pre-surgery check-up is an opportunity to talk over concerns about smoking, diet and physical activity. At an individual level, healthcare professionals "must change how they use their time," the report said. They must understand that this is a part of their job, and be supported to have the skills and knowledge they need to make every contact count. In particular, the extra focus should be on tackling four barriers to a healthy lifestyle: diet, exercise, alcohol and tobacco. Steps should also be taken to improve the health of the 1.4 million people working in the NHS, the experts said. A very strong message from our engagement is that, if we expect healthcare professionals to improve the health and wellbeing of the people they meet in the course of their work, the NHS must first 'put its own house in order'. We ... heard from patients and the public that it is harder to accept messages from the NHS if it is clear they do not follow these messages for their own health.