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December 2010
NAQC News
UPCOMING: NAQC Comments to FDA on Health Warning Labels for Tobacco Packaging – Request for Members to Review and Provide Feedback on the Draft!
NAQC plans to distribute its draft comments to FDA on enhanced tobacco health warning labels to all members next week. Our comments will focus on the inclusion of 800-QUIT-NOW as part of the health warning label. We ask that all members, especially U.S. members, please review the draft and provide feedback by January 3. NAQC will submit its final comments to FDA on January 10, 2011.
NAQC Sends Letter to Prime Minister Harper Encouraging Enhanced Health Warning Labels for Canada!
On December 3, NAQC sent a letter to Prime Minister Harper encouraging him to move forward the regulatory process for enhancing health warning labels on tobacco packages in Canada.
» view copy of the letter
NAQC Seeks Sample Agreements Between Researchers/Evaluators and Quitlines and Multi-Site Guidelines for Conducting Research!
The North American Quitline Consortium is working on a new initiative to provide tools and resource materials to quitlines in support of research. The goal is to create an online repository of information available to all NAQC members.
We are collecting sample research and data use agreements, both formal and informal, between quitlines and researchers/evaluators. We plan to provide sample language and identify important areas for discussion and inclusion in agreements to increase the likelihood of successful collaborations between researchers/evaluators and quitlines.
In addition, NAQC is developing multi-site guidelines for conducting quitline-related research at more than one location simultaneously. The guideline would help to facilitate and support collaborations between researchers and quitline operators and mediate discussions focusing on quitline research on a larger scale than what can be accomplished with a single quitline. We are collecting sample guidelines from several fields of research, and will be tailoring them for quitline-specific research efforts.
We would like to collect samples of research or data use agreements and multi-site guidelines from existing projects and organizations. If you have insight on items that you believe are important to have addressed in these types of agreements or would be willing to provide sample text or full agreements, please contact RaeAnne Davis at rdavis@naquitline.org.
Thank you for your consideration!
» contact RaeAnne
First Conference Call on Quitline-Related Research Call Summary Now Available!
NAQC hosted its first conference call on quitline-related research and evaluation on Tuesday, November 23. The call focused on ways the quitline research and evaluation community can connect more effectively and ways to do so. The call summary is now posted on the Research Conference Calls page of the NAQC website at http://www.naquitline.org/?page=QuarterlyResearch. For more information about the call series or to receive information about future calls, please contact Jessie Saul (jsaul@naquitline.org) or Mignonne Guy (mguy@naquitline.org).
» learn more
Thank You Annual Survey Respondents!
We’d like to send out a huge “thank you” to all of the quitline staff who have been working on the NAQC Annual Survey over the past couple of months. We sincerely appreciate your efforts, and recognize that there has been an unusually heavy load on quitlines this year. We are in the process of working with the CDC to get US quitlines’ permission to access their data from the CDC web-based services surveys so that we don’t need to duplicate efforts for the FY2011 NAQC annual survey. If you have any questions or concerns about the NAQC annual survey or other reporting requirements/requests for quitlines, please contact Jessie Saul (jsaul@naquitline.org) or RaeAnne Davis (rdavis@naquitline.org).
» learn more
Tobacco Control
New Surgeon General’s Report Released – How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease
This Surgeon General’s report contains important new information on how tobacco smoke causes disease and explains why it is crucial to stop smoking and avoid secondhand smoke.
»learn more
Understanding Health Reform – A Community Guide for African Americans
The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation has produced a new publication, Understanding Health Reform – A Community Guide for African Americans, which includes a section summarizing the wellness and prevention provisions in ACA.
»learn more
The Department of Health and Human Services launched Healthy People 2020!
You can access the interactive Healthy People website at www.healthypeople.gov.
You can access the Healthy People Tobacco Use objectives, targets and data sources directly at http://healthypeople.gov/2020/topicsobjectives2020/overview.aspx?topicid=41.
»learn more
Black Smokers May Face Higher Death Risk Than Whites: CDC
A study conducted in Missouri suggests that smoking may be even more lethal for blacks than it is for whites.
In fact, researchers say the smoking-related death rate for blacks is nearly one-fifth higher than it is for whites in that state.
The study was conducted by researchers at the Office on Smoking and Health at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They analyzed data from 2003-2007 found that the average annual smoking-attributable death rate was 358 per 100,000 for blacks in Missouri and 286 per 100,000 for whites, a difference of 18 percent.
That racial difference was larger among men (28 percent) than among women (11 percent).
Blacks had a 26 percent higher smoking-related death rate for cancer and a 53 percent higher smoking-related death for circulatory diseases, but a 32 percent lower smoking-related death rate for respiratory diseases.
Overall, smoking caused about a third of all cancer deaths, 15.3 percent of all circulatory disease deaths, and 46.5 percent of all respiratory disease deaths in Missouri between 2003 and 2007, according to the study.
»learn more
Spanish Version of 2008 PHS Tobacco Dependence Guideline Now Available!
On behalf of the U.S. Public Health Service Clinical Practice Guideline Panel and the Sociedad Española de Neumología y Cirugía Torácica, we are pleased to announce the release of Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence in Spanish.
This is the first time the entire PHS Guideline has been translated into Spanish. In past years, summaries were translated into Spanish.
»learn more
The Role of Mentholated Cigarette Smoking in Smoking Behaviors in U.S. Populations
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the Tobacco Research Network on Disparities (TReND), funded by the NCI and Legacy, are pleased to announce the release of The Role of Mentholated Cigarette Smoking in Smoking Behaviors in United States Populations, a special supplemental issue to the journal Addiction. This special supplement includes 11 new studies focusing on the prevalence of menthol flavored cigarette use, cessation success rates among menthol cigarette users and factors that might influence smoking and quitting menthols. The editors for this supplement include Drs. Kola Okuyemi, Deirdre Lawrence, Linda Alexander, and George Hammons.
»learn more
Massachusetts Health Study Results
New paper cites significant reductions in inpatient hospital claims for cardiovascular diagnoses following first use of medications paid for by Massachusetts Medicaid. These important findings from the Massachusetts should help us all to make deeper inroads into improving benefit coverage for tobacco users across the nation and increasing use of those benefits.
»learn more
Research
Does the Number of Free Nicotine Patches Given to Smokers Calling a Quitline Influence Quit Rates: Results From a Quasi-experimental Study.
Cummings KM, Fix BV, Celestino P, Hyland A, Mahoney M, Ossip DJ, Bauer U. BMC Public Health. 2010 Apr 7;10:181.
This study tested the question whether smokers calling a telephone quitline who are given more nicotine patches report higher quit rates at 12-month follow-up. Smokers calling the New York State Smokers’ Quitline (NYSSQL) between April 2003 and May 2006 were mailed 2-, 4-, 6- or 8-week supplies of free nicotine patches. Results showed that quit rates were higher for smokers in the 2, 6, and 8 week groups. The lowest quit rate was found among Medicaid/uninsured smokers who were eligible to receive up to six weeks of free patches. The authors conclude that baseline differences in the characteristics of the groups could account for the lack of a relationship between amount of NRT provided and quit outcomes, and call for further studies.
Evaluation of a hospital-based tobacco treatment service: Outcomes and lessons learned.
Faseru B, Turner M, Casey G, Ruder C, Befort CA, Ellerbeck EF, Richter KP. J Hosp Med. 2010 Nov 24. [Epub ahead of print]
This study described services provided and outcomes of an academic medical center-based tobacco treatment service in the US. Of 513 patients served over one year, more than 25% had been given an in-hospital medication to help with nicotine withdrawal before seeing a cessation counselor. Over half (56%) were referred to quitlines by a cessation counselor. At six months (response rate 46%), 32% of respondents reported being quit (15% intention to treat rate). After discharge, nearly three-quarters (74%) had made at least one serious quit attempt, 34% had used a quit-smoking medication, but only 5% of those referred to the quitline reported using it. The authors conclude that many smokers who request to see a counselor before being discharged from the hospital still make unassisted quit attempts due to low rates of utilization of medications and quitlines. They also suggest that quitlines alone may not fulfill guideline recommendations for post-discharge follow-up.
Effectiveness of adding relapse prevention materials to telephone counseling.
Sheffer CE, Stitzer M, Brandon T, Bursac Z. J Subst Abuse Treat. 2010 Jul;39(1):71-7.
This study examined the effectiveness of adding relapse prevention materials to telephone counseling in Arkansas. Results showed that adding relapse prevention materials to at least one session of telephone counseling and nicotine patches did not improve quit rates. However, relapse prevention materials alone doubled quit rates and increased the odds of abstinence by nearly 70% at six months for those who did not receive any counseling or medications (20.9% versus 10.6%; OR = 1.69; CI = 1.02-2.78; p = .04). For tobacco users not interested in or eligible for counseling and medications, relapse prevention materials may be a valuable resource in their quit attempt.
Intervention Review: Stage-based interventions for smoking cessation.
Cahill K, Lancaster T, Green N. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2010, Issue 11. Art. No.: CD004492. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD004492.pub4.
This systematic review of the literature examined whether stage-based cessation interventions were effective. The main outcome was smoking abstinence for at least six months, and preferred biochemically validated rates where reported. After searching the literature, 41 trials met the inclusion criteria. Based on four trials using direct comparisons, stage-based self-help interventions and individual counseling were neither more nor less effective than their non-stage-based equivalents. Similar results were found in trials of stage-based self-help or counseling interventions versus any control condition. The evidence is not clear for other types of staged intervention, including telephone counseling, interactive web-based programs, and care provider or lay supporter training, perhaps due in part to the small number of studies in these areas. The authors conclude that the evidence does not support restricting quitting advice and encouragement only to those smokers perceived to be in the preparation and action stages. In addition, the extra value of fitting that support to the smoker's stage of change is currently unclear.
Announcements
Call For Input on Guidelines for Quitline Cessation Specialist Training!
The Behavioral Health Advisory Forum (BHAF) recently released a report titled “Do Quitlines Have a Role in Serving the Tobacco Cessation Needs of Persons with Mental Illnesses and Substance Abuse Disorders?”(available at http://smokingcessationleadership.ucsf.edu/Downloads/BHAFQuitlines_BH9_27_10.pdf) As part of that report, the Forum recommended that “Tobacco treatment specialists should receive regular training on behavioral health issues. It is important that quitline staff have a working understanding of how addictions and mental health issues are associated with tobacco use and impact tobacco cessation efforts.”
The Forum is beginning a process to develop guidelines and recommendations around training and continuing education for handling behavioral health issues in a quitline context. Anyone interested in participating in this process should contact Chad Morris at Chad.Morris@ucdenver.edu.
» contact Chad Morris
1-800-QUIT-NOW to be promoted as part of Surgeon General’s Report!
NAQC recently received information about the promotion of 800-QUIT-NOW as part of the promotion for the new Surgeon General’s report, due to be released this week. Please see details below. We are providing this News Flash to update quitline operators and administrators about the promotion.
On December 9, 2010, the latest Surgeon General’s report—How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease—The Biology and Behavioral Basis for Tobacco-Attributable Disease: A Report of the Surgeon General—will be released at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. At the press event, CDC will unveil a new 30-second public service announcement (PSA) featuring the U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Regina M. Benjamin. The PSA will feature 1-800-QUIT-NOW in the tag.
» learn more
Call for papers: Measurement and impact of discrimination in the health care setting- AJPH
The Applied Research and the Behavioral Research Programs of the Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences (DCCPS) of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health (NIH) are sponsoring a special theme issue of the American Journal of Public Health to highlight results of recent research on the measurement and impact of discrimination in the health care setting.
» learn more
National Summit on Smokeless and Spit Tobacco
The 6th National Summit Smokeless and Spit Tobacco is the only national conference that is designed especially for professionals and advocates working in the field of smokeless tobacco use prevention and cessation. It seeks to raise awareness of the dangers of smokeless tobacco products and to broaden the national coalition of organizations, agencies and individuals committed to reducing and eventually eliminating the use of smokeless and spit tobacco products. Participants will learn about the latest research in the field, and share strategies that have proven effective and successful in the fight against smokeless tobacco.
This conference will be held in Austin on May 10-12, 2011. The web link is www.smokelesstobaccosummit.com and on the web site you will find information on the summit and for the call for presentations which is currently open.
» learn more
Find more Announcements in our Newsroom or go back to top.
Funding for Connections is provided through a contract from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We thank them for their support of this publication. Information and links are provided solely as a service to NAQC members and partners and do not constitute an endorsement of any organization by NAQC, nor should any be inferred.
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