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Way To Go!
My name is Carol LaRosh and I started smoking at a very early age because my friends thought it was cool. When I became pregnant with my second child, I made a decision to not go through another pregnancy smoking. During one of my prenatal visits, I told my doctor that I wanted to quit smoking and was referred to 1-800-NO-BUTTS to get free counseling over the phone. I must say, I was pretty headstrong and thought I could do it on my own, but decided to try it out. I'm so glad I did. It will be 7 years this September since I quit and my little girls have never seen me smoke. I'm so proud of myself. I look younger, feel better and have no qualms about saying, "THANK YOU!" to the one program that helped center me during a very stressful time and help me accomplish such a huge goal. |
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Contact Us
The Helpline's Outreach team educates health care providers and organizations with a health focus on the importance of tobacco cessation, while encouraging them to promote Helpline services to their clients. In order to reach diverse populations, the team partners with organizations representing communities with high smoking prevalence, underserved communities and health care provider associations.
The team includes:
Kristin Harms
Jill Macinko
Walter Silverman
If you have any questions or partnership ideas please contact us individually or via the Outreach email or phone, 858-300-1010. | |
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American Lung Association Leads Promotion of Helpline
One of several ideas that emerged from this collaboration is a joint press conference celebrating World No Tobacco Day which is Saturday, May 31st. The California Smokers' Helpline will host the press conference on Friday, May 30th to observe and celebrate World No Tobacco Day, an annual event sponsored by the World Health Organization. The theme of the press conference will be 'How California Quits' and it will feature speakers from the Helpline, the American Lung Association of California, the California Dental Hygienists' Association, and the Partnership for Smoke-Free Families as well as Carol LaRosh, a successful former client of the Helpline.
"The American Lung Association is pleased to collaborate with the California Smokers' Helpline to promote its outstanding smoking cessation counseling service," says Molly Bowman, Policy Manager for the American Lung Association of California (ALAC). "As advocates who educate elected officials and the public about the importance of passing tobacco-free policies, ALAC staff and volunteers understand the compelling connection between the creation of smoke-free venues and the importance of helping smokers end their addiction to nicotine. This dynamic partnership reflects our shared values and goals -- striving to integrate smoking cessation education into public and voluntary policies that protect the public from the dangers associated with secondhand smoke and the environment from tobacco litter hazards." In addition to the press conference, the Helpline has developed a new Helpline Client Flier as a result of this collaboration and efforts are underway to incorporate cessation messages into the policy advocacy work of the American Lung Association.
The California Smokers' Helpline greatly appreciates the support and leadership of the American Lung Association and the many other local and statewide organizations working together to help Californians quit. |
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Do You cAARd?
by Tami MacAller
Over 2.5 million people in California have diabetes. Although the prevalence of smoking has decreased over the last decade in the US, one in six adults with diabetes still smokes. (Diabetes Care 30:1883-1885, 2007)
Smoking increases insulin resistance, negatively impacts diabetes control, and increases diabetes-related complications. Diabetes Educators and other health care providers are in a unique position to help influence their patients to quit smoking.
Diabetes Educators from throughout California have joined forces with the California Diabetes Program and the California Smokers' Helpline to help their patients with diabetes quit smoking through the "Do you cAARd?" campaign. The campaign challenges Diabetes Educators to utilize the Ask, Advise, Refer model and give the California Smokers' Helpline "Take Charge" Gold Card to patients with diabetes who smoke or use smokeless tobacco.
The task force has developed intervention tools including an online smoking and diabetes educational "toolkit," presentations at Diabetes Educator meetings and conferences, an accredited continuing education program, a pocket guide for health care providers, and a public relations outreach campaign.
This passionate and enthusiastic task force of volunteers has created an incredible network that has expanded nationally. Most recently they have been qualified as trainers in the Performance Partnership Model and implemented five local summits focusing on reaching health care providers to refer their patients who smoke to Helpline cessation services. For more information please visit the "Do you cAARd?" Campaign. |
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Gold Rush to Help Patients Quit
The California Smokers' Helpline and the California Dental Hygienists' Association have stepped up their partnership by renewing the California Gold Rush competition in which dental hygienists can win prizes for helping their patients quit tobacco. All dental hygienists have to do is Ask patients if they smoke, Advise smokers to quit and Refer them to
1-800-NO-BUTTS for FREE tobacco cessation counseling. Dental hygienists are encouraged to utilize the Gold Card when referring their patients to the Helpline.
The statewide competition will officially launch on June 1, 2008 in Sacramento and will run through May 31, 2009. The grand prize for this competition is an all expenses paid trip to attend the 2009 American Dental Hygienist Association's national conference in Washington DC, courtesy of Phillips Sonicare. Additional prizes will be awarded to dental hygienists who reach referral benchmarks throughout the year. Also, dental hygienists who participate each month will be entered into a monthly raffle where they'll have a chance to win prizes. Dental hygienists can order free Gold Cards and learn more about this exciting opportunity by visiting www.cdha.org. |
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New Clinical Practice Guidelines
On May 7, 2008 the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) released an updated clinical practice guideline that identifies effective new counseling and medication treatments for helping people quit smoking. The guideline update reports evidence that counseling by itself, or especially in conjunction with medication, can greatly increase success in quitting. It notes that quitlines are effective, can reach a large number of people, provide broad access to cessation counseling for diverse populations and are easy for clinicians and patients to use.
The 2008 PHS guideline update and its companion products are available online. For a copy of the California-specific companion piece, "Help Your Patients Quit Smoking" pocket guide, click HERE. | |
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