Helping Smokers Quit: New Partners and New Strategies from the University of California, San Francisco Smoking Cessation Leadership Center.

The Smoking Cessation Leadership Center (SCLC) was established in 2003 to increase the rate of smoking cessation attempts and the likelihood those efforts would succeed. Although smoking remains the number one cause of preventable death and disability, clinicians underperform in smoking cessation. Furthermore, many clinical organizations, governmental agencies, and advocacy groups put little effort into smoking cessation.

Helping Smokers Quit: The Smoking Cessation Leadership Center Engages Behavioral Health by Challenging Old Myths and Traditions.

Smoking is much more common among persons with behavioral health conditions (mental illnesses and/or substance use disorders). Persons with these disorders are more likely to die from smoking-related causes than any other reason. Studies have shown that stopping smoking can improve mental health function, as well as improve outcomes for substance use disorders.

Epilogue to Special Issue on Tobacco and Other Substance Use Disorders: Links and Implications.

This paper summarizes The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse special issue and offers suggestions for future steps. People who use alcohol or other addictive substances are much more likely to use tobacco. Yet, clinicians and scientists have long regarded these addiction categories as separate and unrelated.

American health improvement depends upon addressing class disparities.

The gap in health status between the United States and other (OECD) developed countries not only persists but has widened over the past decade. This has occurred despite major declines in smoking prevalence. But as with other health problems, such as obesity, gun violence, and teenage pregnancy, progress against smoking has disproportionately benefitted the better off segments of the American population.

The effectiveness of tobacco control policies on vulnerable populations in the USA: a review.

Despite population-wide efforts to reduce tobacco use, low-income populations in the USA have much higher rates of tobacco use compared with the general population. The principal components of tobacco control policies in the USA include cigarette taxes, clean indoor air laws and comprehensive interventions to increase access to tobacco cessation services. In this review, we describe the effectiveness of these policies and interventions in reducing tobacco use among vulnerable populations, focusing on persons with mental health disorders and substance use disorders, persons who have experienced incarceration or homelessness, and low-income tenants of public housing.

Changes in Smoking Intensity Over Time by Birth Cohort and by Latino National Background, 1997-2014.

Introduction: The purpose of the study was to describe changes in smoking intensity among US Latinos and non-Latinos from 1997 to 2014.

Methods: National Health Interview Survey data between 1997 and 2014 were used to determine the number of cigarettes smoked per day (CPD) among Latino and non-Latino adults who had smoked at least 100 cigarettes in their lifetime and were currently smoking every day or some days (ie, current smokers).

Results: CPD declined steadily throughout the observation period and were consistently lower for Latino than for non-Latino smokers.

Social Justice as the Moral Core of Family Medicine: A Perspective from the Keystone IV Conference.

A recurring conference theme was the essential place of social justice within family medicine, especially the need to focus on denominator populations, exalt the personal and caring qualities of doctoring, and address social determinants of health. Many expressed solidarity with "community," but it is not always easy to define community in our large and diverse nation. Exhortations for health advocacy were frequently voiced, but putting these into meaningful action agendas is a challenge.

Commentary on a smoke-free medical campus in Jerusalem: data for action.

Over the past 30 years, Israel has made great progress in attitudes and practices about smoking; probably nothing else has contributed more to the health of its population. Yet, a recent survey about a non-smoking ban at an Israeli health sciences campus found incomplete enforcement. In addition, smoking rates among health sciences students, though lower than the general population, were higher than might be expected based on rates in other developed countries.

Tobacco education in U.S. respiratory care programs.

Introduction: Exposure to tobacco smoke impacts the onset or exacerbation of most respiratory disorders, and respiratory therapists are well positioned to identify tobacco use and provide cessation assistance. The purpose of this study was to characterize the level of tobacco cessation education provided to students in U.S.

Is it time for a tobacco-free military?

Achieving a tobacco-free military requires rethinking current perceptions of service members' tobacco use and unmasking the forces perpetuating those perceptions. Prohibiting tobacco use would be entirely consistent with other military requirements regarding health.

From the sidelines to the frontline: how the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration embraced smoking cessation.

Smoking is a major contributor to premature mortality among people with mental illness and substance abuse. Historically, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) did not include smoking cessation in its mission. We describe the development of a unique partnership between SAMHSA and the University of California, San Francisco's Smoking Cessation Leadership Center.