NNTPP LISTSERV
NNTPP is a program of the Health Education Council
Friday December 3, 2004
In this edition:
1) Researchers Making
Headway against Nicotine Addiction
2)
Smoking Cessation Services in
U.S. Methadone Maintenance Facilities
3) Efforts to Promote Smoking
Cessation to Pregnant Smokers Underway
4) NNTPP – Case Studies
and Focus Group Summary Now Available
5) Upcoming
Events
1) Researchers Making Headway against Nicotine
Addiction
Michael Stroh
The Baltimore Sun
11/20/04
Is tobacco
about to meet its match? New insights into how nicotine behaves in the body are
paving the way for better drugs to help smokers beat their addiction,
researchers reported last week at the American Association of Pharmaceutical
Scientists' annual meeting in Baltimore.
According to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, 70 percent of the nation's 46 million smokers say they
want to quit. But fewer than 5 percent of those who go cold turkey manage to
stay nicotine-free. Most last less than a week.
Smokers who turn to cessation aids,
including behavioral therapy and drugs such as Zyban or nicotine gums and
patches, fare better - but not by much. Fewer than 25 percent of smokers who
use cessation aids are tobacco-free after one year. One result: 440,000
Americans die from smoking-related causes annually.
"There's certainly a need for novel
medications," says Tony George, a Yale University
psychiatrist who studies and treats nicotine addicts.
One of the more promising experimental
drugs being tested in humans is Varenicline. Developed by Pfizer, the drug is
the first anti-smoking therapy specifically designed to target the brain's
nicotine receptors.
To read the full article please visit http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/living/health/10219147.htm
2) Smoking
Cessation Services in U.S.
Methadone Maintenance Facilities
Richter KP, Choi WS, McCool RM, Harris KJ, Ahluwalia JS.
Psychiatr
Serv. 2004
Nov;55(11):1258-1264.
BACKGROUND: Most patients in drug treatment smoke cigarettes. This study
established the prevalence and types of nicotine dependence services offered in
methadone and other opioid treatment clinics in the United States. A cross-sectional survey was
conducted of all outpatient methadone maintenance clinics in the United States. One person in a leadership
position from each clinic was surveyed. The 20-minute survey was collected by
phone, fax, or mail, according to responder preference.
RESULTS: Fifty-nine
percent of the clinics (408 of 697 clinics) responded. The sample was very
similar to all outpatient methadone maintenance clinics in the United States in size, region, and ownership. In
the 30 days before the survey, respondents reported that their clinics provided
the following services to at least one patient: 73 percent provided brief
advice to quit, 18 percent offered individual or group smoking cessation
counseling, and 12 percent prescribed nicotine replacement therapy. However,
the services were provided to very few patients. Clinics with written
guidelines that required them to address smoking were much more likely to
provide services than those without guidelines. Private for-profit clinics were
significantly less likely than public or private nonprofit clinics to treat
nicotine dependence. Most respondents (77 percent) reported that their staff
were interested in receiving training in nicotine dependence treatment, and
more than half (56 percent) had at least one staff member
(“champion”) with a strong interest in treating nicotine
dependence. A dual strategy of requiring clinics to provide comprehensive
nicotine dependence services and training staff to provide these services may
provide the incentive and support necessary for the widespread adoption of
treatment for nicotine dependence in methadone facilities.
3) Efforts to Promote Smoking Cessation to Pregnant
Smokers Underway
The National Partnership to Help Pregnant Smokers Quit and
many of its partner organizations are leading an effort to promote
“Smoking Cessation for Pregnancy and Beyond—Learn Proven Strategies
to Help Your Patients Quit” to physicians, nurses, and other health
professionals who care for women of reproductive age.
The program, also known as a “virtual clinic”, is available online
for download free of charge at http://iml.dartmouth.edu/education/cme/Smoking/install.html
or via CD-ROM from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
for $25 (plus shipping and handling) at http://sales.acog.com/ or
1-800-762-2264, ext. 192. The program trains clinicians in the best practices
for helping patients who smoke through features such as case discussions,
lectures led by distinguished faculty, real-life patient interviews, and
strategies for implementing optimal and efficient office systems to support
smoking cessation counseling and documentation. Many professionals can earn
continuing education credits for completing the training.
If you would like to promote the program among your colleagues or within your
community, you can obtain helpful materials, including camera ready ads, fact
sheets, and a flyer, by contacting mdroumbanis@porternovelli.com
or calling (202) 973-1360.
4) NNTPP – Case Studies
and Focus Group Summary Now Available
The National Network on Tobacco Prevention and Poverty
announces the release of two case studies written in collaboration with two of
our national Stakeholder organizations. Tobacco
Policy, Cessation, and Education in Correctional Facilities Case Study
highlights NNTPP’s collaboration with the National Commission on
Correctional Health Care and a joint survey conducted among correctional
facilities across the United States to examine tobacco use policies and
cessation programming. Integrating
Tobacco Control into The Salvation Army’s Substance
Abuse Training Curriculum Case Study focuses on NNTPP’s collaboration
with The Salvation Army. It describes
our efforts to integrate nicotine addition treatment into The Salvations
Army’s alcohol and substance abuse treatment programs.
In addition, NNTPP also released a summary report of our
focus group data collected in collaboration with West Virginia University-Prevention Research Center titled Smoking Habits and
Prevention Strategies in Low Socio-economic Status Populations. The
objectives of the focus groups were to review the social and cultural nuances
that support/encourage smoking in low SES populations, identify communication
channels most effective in reaching this population with tobacco
cessation/prevention messages, and to tailor prevention messages to reach low
SES adults.
Copies of the case studies and the focus group summary may
be obtained by calling the Health Education Council, toll-free at 1(888)
442-2836 or emailing nntpp@healthedcouncil.org
..
5) Upcoming Events
West Virginia Tobacco Prevention
Conference
“Community Coalitions:
Partnering for a Healthy West Virginia”
December 6-7, 2004 – Charleston, WV
Contact
Teresa Mace at 304-558-2939 for registration information.
19th National
Conference on Chronic Disease Prevention and Control
Health Disparities: Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities
March
1-3, 2005 – Atlanta, GA
Updates in Correctional Health Care
Presented by the National Commission on Correctional Health
Care
April 9-12, 2005 - Flamingo Hotel Las Vegas, NV (773) 880-1460
New England Regional Minority Health
Conference
April 10 & 11 and 12, 2005 - Portland, Maine
Information:
michellesurdoval@yahoo.com
National
Conference on Tobacco or Health
May
4-6, 2005 – Chicago, IL
- Every 2nd Saturday
