In Central and Eastern Europe the morbidity and mortality rates as a result of tobacco use are high. Based on the premise that the health professional can play an important role in dealing with this epidemic of tobacco use, a series of workshops was organized in 2000 and 2001 for dentists and physicians. This article contains a summary of the proceedings of the workshop ´The role of the health professional and health school curriculum in tobacco control´, that have been earlier published in the European Journal of Dental Education. The role of the Dutch dentist in assisting their patients to quit smoking is discussed.