News Flash
Medical Intervention to Stop Smoking Among Young Adults (MISSYA)
With funding from Health Canada, Leave The Pack Behind is running a project called Medical Intervention to Stop Smoking in Young Adulthood (MISSYA). The MISSYA project has supplied all campus clinics with full-course treatments of Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT). The full-course treatments of NRT include multiple strengths of both the patch and the gum.
Professional Development Workshops
Leave The Pack Behind has also offered free educational workshops detailing effective use of NRT and other cessation medications with young adult smokers and ‘Motivational Interviewing’ techniques for health professionals. Already over 80 health professionals from 25 colleges and universities have attended a workshop. Attendees expressed enthusiasm and increased dedication to help students who smoke with smoking cessation. They felt more confident in using the NRT products and with using successful counseling strategies.
The workshops have been led by Melodie Shick-Porter (Co-Director, Leave The Pack Behind and Director, Student Health Services, Brock University) and Dr. Darrell Grant (Medical Consultant, Leave The Pack Behind, and Medical Director, Student Health Services, Brock University).
If you or anyone from your campus clinic are interested in:
· attending a free, specialized development workshop
· having Dr. Grant and Melodie do a presentation to your staff
· receiving free educational resources related to this project
Simply contact:
Shona Riggi, MISSYA Project Assistant
Phone: (905) 688-5550 ext.5472
Email: sriggi@brocku.ca
MISSYA is funded by Health Canada, Tobacco Control Programme, and supported by the Ontario Ministry of Health Promotion and Sport.
Is NRT an effective cessation medication?
A recent article published in Tobacco Control by Harvard and University of Massachusetts Researchers Alpert and colleagues¹ challenges the effectiveness of NRT for smoking cessation. The authors argue that:
“NRT is no more effective in helping people stop smoking cigarettes in the long term than trying to quit on one’s own.”
As a response to this article, Canadian researchers and experts in the field have pointed out several flaws in the research design and methods. Please read their critique to see what they have to say about NRT, available here.
More details are also available in our BTI Bulletin, available here.
RNAO’s Ontario Smoking Cessation Initiative
Upcoming Champions’ Workshops for Student Nurses
Student nurses across Ontario are invited to attend a one-day workshop and become champions and advocates for smoking cessation services and smoking policies in their work environments. Learn how to help your patients who smoke to quit and improve their health, their lives and that of their families. Sign up today for a workshop near you!
Student Workshops:
February 8 – Thunder Bay, ON @ Thunder Bay District Health Unit
February 11- Owen Sound, ON @Best Western Inn on the Bay
Nurses and other health care providers are welcome to attend the following workshop in your area:
Upcoming Champions’ Workshops for Healthcare Professionals:
Feb 7- Thunder Bay @ Valhalla Inn
Feb 10- Owen Sound @ Best Western Inn on the Bay
Visit www.TobaccoFreeRNAO.ca for more details and to register.
NSRA Launches Tobacco-Free Campus Guide
The Non-Smokers' Rights Association, with input from Sharon Lawler, Manager, LTPB has developed a comprehensive Tobacco-Free Campus Guide. The aim of the Guide is to offer information to increase support for and encourage the creation or improvement of tobacco-free measures at Canadian post-secondary schools. Using a selection of the best examples from colleges and universities in Canada and elsewhere, the Guide outlines how to develop, implement and support a comprehensive tobacco-free campus policy.
Download the pdf file (16 pages)
Hard copies are available from LTPB: (905) 688-5550 ext.5144 or ltpboffice@brocku.ca.
Nursing Faculty Education Guide: Tobacco Use and Associated Health Risks
Download the pdf file (117 pages)
Smokers' Helpline Fax Referral Program for All Ontario Campus Clinics
Now you can provide added support to your students who want to quit smoking. LTPB will provide you with a quick, one-page form to refer any student smoker to the Canadian Cancer Society Smokers' Helpline (SHL) Quit Coaches. After talking about cessation and obtaining consent for the referral, have the student sign and then fax it to SHL. Each student you refer will receive proactive calls to support them through the quitting process. This will enhance your interventions and increase the success rate of quit attempts. Call now to set this up for your campus clinic. Sharon Lawler at: (905) 688-5550 ext.4243
1. Alpert, H. R., Connolly, G. N., & Biener, L. (2012). A prospective cohort study challenging the effectiveness of population-based medical intervention for smoking cessation. Tobacco Control, doi: 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2011-050129.
