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Health professionals from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and UW Health are speaking out about how to help patients with alchohol problems, drug addictions, or psychiatric diagnoses quit smoking. This population smokes half the cigarettes in the United States and nearly half of the deaths from smoking are among these patients.
The Wisconsin Nicotine Treatment and Integration Project (WiNTIP) is well represented at the Wisconsin Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse annual conference held May 10-13 at the Marriott West in Middleton. WiNTIP’s mission is to encourage and help facilitate tobacco-dependence treatment into standard care for patients with psychiatric diagnoses.
WiNTIP is hosting a major exhibit with a 46” flat screen showing key messages on why and how to help patients quit tobacco use, as well as testimonials from patients who have been there, done that. The booth staff will offer a survey to attendees, and those who participate will be entered in a drawing to win one of two free iPod shuffles.
UW-CTRI researchers Doug Jorenby and Megan Piper teamed with WiNTIP coordinator David “Mac” Macmaster to offer a six-hour training May 11 at the conference, focusing on how attendees can integrate tobacco-cessation treatment into the standard care at their practices.
Dr. Eric Heiligenstein, a member of the WiNTIP Steering Committee, delivered an opening plenary presentation on why tobacco dependence is such an important issue among patients with psychiatric diagnoses. It’s the first time a WiNTIP representative has had such an opportunity. |
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David "Mac" Macmaster |
“Evidence-based nicotine-dependence treatment can be integrated into our Wisconsin alcohol and other drug-abuse (AODA) treatment programs,” Heiligenstein said. “This will help save the lives of some of the 3,700 Wisconsin residents with addiction and mental health disorders who are dying this year from death by tobacco. At this rate, 37,500 will die in the next 10 years. That is 44 percent of the 8,000 annual state tobacco deaths. Presenting this nicotine-integration concept and offering solutions for how it can be done is what my plenary presentation is designed to achieve at the state's largest conference of AODA counselors and treatment providers. We are ready to tell our story. My hope is that our partnership of tobacco, AODA, mental health and the government agencies responsible for public health will be strengthened as AODA clinicians take up the challenge of expanding their scope of practice to include nicotine and tobacco in treatment.”
Bruce Christiansen is also offering a breakout session on best practices in helping patients quit tobacco use. WiNTIP is made possible through support by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. |
