Communiqué #47

In This Issue:

1. Hawaii Shows Leadership in Tobacco and Behavioral Health

2. New Year's Resolutions by SCLC Director, Steven Schroeder, M.D.

3. Bi-Directional e-Referrals for Tobacco Dependence Treatment -
A Health Systems Approach

4. Legacy's Initiative on Tribal College Health
5. Smoking and Cervical Cancer - Becoming Aware of the Risks

6. Resource Highlights and SCLC's Next Webinar

7. Tools and Resources

Congratulations to the State of Hawaii for Hosting Its First Ever Leadership Academy Focused on Smoking Cessation for the Behavioral Health Population

On the evening of December 17 and all day December 18, 2014, forty-eight leaders and advocates in public health, behavioral health, and tobacco control came together for a first-ever initiative focused on reducing smoking prevalence among people with behavioral health disorders (mental illness and addictions) in the State of Hawaii.

The summit was held by the Hawaii State Department of Health, in partnership with Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Smoking Cessation Leadership Center (SCLC), continuing work from the SAMHSA 2014 State Policy Academy on Tobacco Control in Behavioral Health.

The purpose of the summit was to design an action plan for Hawaii to reduce smoking and nicotine addiction among individuals with mental illness and addictions, and to create an environment of collaboration and integration among the fields of public health (including tobacco control and prevention), mental health, and substance abuse services. Participants represented state and local agencies, including mental health, addictions, consumer, community services, non-profit, academic, and chronic disease prevention organizations.

Hawaii Leadership Academy planning team (left to right):
Stacy Haitsuka, MPA, MPH, CHES, Mark Fridovich, PhD, MPA, Naomi Crozier, HCPS, Lila Johnson, RN, MPH, CHES, and Libby Pyo, RN.
Not pictured: Kimo Alameda, PhD.

The partners agreed on a 5% reduction by 2020 target for the Frequent Mental Distress and Heavy Drinking baseline measures, and a 6.8% reduction by 2020 target for the Severe and Persistent Mental Illness (SPMI) measure.

Read the complete action plan [PDF] and learn more about the Leadership Academies.

New Year's Resolution by Dr. Steve Schroeder

"For 2015, I hope that the Smoking Cessation Leadership Center (SCLC) can accelerate progress to help smokers in disparate populations such as those with behavioral health conditions try to quit, and to do so successfully. This will require robust partnerships with the organizations and providers that represent these populations, as well as with relevant federal and state agencies. It is exciting to be part of a culture change that has transformed attitudes about smoking among the behavioral health population from 'smoking is necessary or at least tolerated,' to 'stopping smoking is essential to the health of our consumers."

How to Talk to Your Patients about Quitting Smoking

In this short video, Steve Schroeder, M.D., UCSF Professor of Medicine and Director of SCLC, discusses the importance of asking and advising all smokers to quit, and Dean Schillinger, M.D., Chief, Division of Internal Medicine, San Francisco General Hospital, provides a short demonstration about how to talk to a patient about quitting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkKYVVxxksw&feature=youtu.be

UCSF Bi-Directional e-Referral for Tobacco Dependence Treatment is now Live

Healthcare providers in the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Health System will now be able to send a bi-directional "e-Referral" for patient tobacco cessation treatment through the APeX electronic medical record to the California Smokers' Helpline. The Helpline, based at UC San Diego, offers free telephone counseling and follow-up support that doubles the chances of long-term quitting. Referred patients cared for in the UCSF system (inpatient and outpatient) receive a call from a Helpline counselor within one to two business days. The ordering hospital will, in turn, receive an APeX results message from the Helpline about the patient's call.

E-Referral is part of the UC Quits project led by Dr. Elisa Tong from UC Davis, and is supported by the UC Center for Healthcare Quality and Innovation. This ambitious project involves all five of the health science campuses to ensure that every smoker receives support at every encounter. This system wide collaboration is a historic change in how healthcare providers can ensure that smokers can get help to quit smoking by using the electronic healthcare record.

The e-Referral is just one more tool for health professionals to support a patient's desire to join the unhooked generation. The Helpline's 1800-NO-BUTTS number has been around for over 20 years, but the e-Referral ensures the Helpline will connect with a referred patient and that the ordering provider is kept informed.

Learn more about UC Quits at www.ucquits.com and the California Smokers' Helpline at www.nobutts.org.

Legacy's Tribal College Health Initiative

A Study of Tobacco-Related Health Disparities in Three Different Tribes

This publication presents Legacy's Tribal College Health Initiative, a partnership between Legacy and the Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan, as a community-based research project and examines how the project collaborated with three tribal colleges and affiliated tribal communities to implement the American Indian Adult Tobacco Survey. It also highlights the lessons learned from the initiative and offers a summary of the key findings based on data gathered from this research project. These publications can be found online at http://www.legacyforhealth.org/dreports.

January is Cervical Health Awareness Month

Each year, an estimated 12,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer, and, of those, about one-third will die as a result of the cancer. Smoking has shown to triple a woman's risk of developing cervical cancer, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The American Social Health Association (ASHA) and the National Cervical Cancer Coalition have named January Cervical Health Awareness Month to encourage women across the country to get screened for cervical cancer and receive the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine if eligible. Please use the following resources from the CDC below to learn more about cervical cancer and what you can do to prevent it:

Resource Highlights

SCLC Webinar Series Begins January 27th: The Smoking Cessation Leadership Center and the American Psychological Association will be hosting the webinar, "What's Smoking Got to Do with It? Improving the Health of Priority Populations by Treating Tobacco Use." Free CME/CEUs will be offered to all participants during this live session. It will be held on Tuesday, January 27th at 10am PT/1pm EST, with H. Westley Clark, MD, JD, MPH, CAS, FASAM and Lula A. Beatty, PhD. Register Now!

SCLC Website Redesign: Let us know what you think! We have redesigned our website and are looking to get your feedback. Email Gil Lorenzo if you have any questions or comments, or if you have a resource you would like for us to consider adding to our website.

Other Resources

The American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation
released its quarterly update of the lists and maps of U.S. municipalities and states with smokefree laws now in effect. A comprehensive list of state and local laws including clean air, restrictions on youth access to tobacco, tobacco advertising and promotion restrictions, tobacco excise taxes, and conditional use permits can be found here.

National Behavioral Health Network for Tobacco & Cancer Control (NBHN)

Click here to gain free access to cancer and tobacco control and prevention resources including toolkits, e-newsletters, webinars and training opportunities, virtual communities, and social media resources. Share what your organization is doing to reduce tobacco use and increase cancer screenings for people with mental illness and addictions on Twitter or Facebook with the hashtag #BHtheChange.

Legacy - FINISH IT:

The annual Monitoring the Future study reported that youth smoking rates have dropped below 10% to their lowest levels in 22 years. This is outstanding news and a real testament to the continued work and dedication of colleagues and advocates around the country. We're closer than we've ever been to ending the tobacco epidemic, but we're not finished yet.

To jumpstart additional declines in youth smoking prevalence, Legacy launched a bold new chapter in the evolution of the truth® national youth smoking prevention campaign, designed to reach and empower youth ages 15-21. Through the power of truth, as well as the energy and passion of today's youth, this can be the generation that finally ends smoking. Join the movement at thetruth.com and on truth social platforms Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to learn more as the campaign unfolds. Visit the "Take Action" tab at www.thetruth.com for ways to show your support in the fight to end smoking.

The Cost of Addiction -- How Much Is Spent on Cigarette Use?

Calculate the cost of smoking using this online tool from the American Cancer Society.

1-800-QUIT-NOW Wallet Card

Available through the Smoking Cessation Leadership Center, the card is similar in size and feel to a credit card and offers motivational language urging smokers to call the nation's free,

effective, tobacco cessation counseling lines. Click here to order.

A New Way to Think About Quitting

Re-learning life without cigarettes. The free Become an EX plan is based on personal experiences from ex-smokers, as well as the latest scientific research from the experts at Mayo Clinic.

RWJF Tobacco Map

For the first time, policymakers and advocates have access to a nationwide picture of continuing state efforts on key tobacco control policies. The RWJF Tobacco Map uses data from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and the Americans for Non-Smokers' Rights and is updated as new information becomes available.

Have some news you would like to share? Send us your updates

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Smoking Cessation Leadership Center | University of California, San Francisco

Please continue to send us your updates (i.e. newsletter articles, provider trainings, presentations, etc.)
We will collect all the information, share with all partners, and post updates on the SCLC website.

Questions or comments on the Communiqué:
Contact Gil Lorenzo