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Tobacco-Related Health Disparities

In Fall 2020, the Northwest ATTC sponsored three presentations as part of the University of Washington’s course HSERV 556, "Tobacco-Related Health Disparities and Social Justice."

Those presentations, along with their slides and a Q&A, are available below.

The Tobacco Epidemic in the U.S.

Beatriz Carlini, PhD, MPH
Research Scientist, Alcohol & Drug Abuse Institute, UW

In this presentation, Dr. Carlini covers background information about the tobacco epidemic in the U.S., particularly the cigarette epidemic, addresses disparities in the populations most vulnerable to tobacco addiction and related health effects, and describes emerging products and diseases related to tobacco, including the impact of smoking history on the severity of symptoms in people who contract COVID-19.

Presentation slides | Q&A


Addressing Equity in Tobacco Dependence Treatment

Tim McAfee, MD, MPH
Former Director and Senior Medical Officer, Office on Smoking & Health, CDC (currently a consultant with the CDC)
Chief Medical Officer and Founder, Free & Clear (Optum)
Affiliate Faculty, Department of Health Services, UW

In this presentation, Dr. McAfee describes what is generally meant by tobacco “treatment,” from both a public health and clinical perspective; the unique health and equity issues that face smokers, including in the COVID era; and potential solutions for those issues.

Presentation slides | Q&A


Tobacco and Opioid Dependence

Kimber P. Richter, PhD, MPH
Professor, Department of Population Health, KU Medical Center, University of Kansas
Director, UKanQuit at KUMed
Dr. Richter conducts federally funded research on tobacco treatment in rural primary care and hospitals.

Dr. Richter talks about the prevalence and health consequences of tobacco use among people with opioid use disorder, what helps them quit, opportunities for harm reduction, and what needs to happen in terms of future research and practice.  

Presentation slides | Q&A


Additional Resources

SAMHSA National Center of Excellence for Tobacco-Free RecoveryThis SAMHSA Center of Excellence is housed at the Smoking Cessation Leadership Center (SCLC) at UCSF. SCLC was founded in 2003 and focuses on increasing successful quit attempts and reducing smoking prevalence. It also aims to help providers do a better job intervening with tobacco users and advocating for equal access to cessation services. Learn more about the SCLC in this set of presentation slides from September 2021.

Tobacco-Free Toolkit for Behavioral Health Agencies: This 60-page PDF toolkit from the SAMHSA National Center of Excellence for Tobacco-Free Recovery features information on tobacco addiction and cessation; how to move your facility toward being smoke-free; how to promote wellness in general among your clients; sample documents, checklists, and assessments, and more. 

Smokefree.gov resources that clinicians can refer their patients to for help quitting tobacco:   

Rx for Change: Clinician-Assisted Tobacco Cessation (UCSF) from the University of California, San Francisco is a comprehensive online tobacco cessation training program from the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) that equips health professional students and practicing clinicians, of all disciplines, with evidence-based knowledge and skills for assisting patients with quitting. Includes virtual patient exercises.
Tobacco-Related Disparities (CDC): This page from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) contains useful information on how tobacco use affects different segments of society, including race, ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, place of residence, military status and mental health condition. 
University of Wisconsin Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention offers a range of education materials for smokers, researchers, providers, and more.

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