Smoking Cessation

4/30/09 - Smoking Cessation Leadership Academy Award

Contact Person: Diane Dovico, Executive Director, 248-588-5050 x 229
or Lorraine McGoldrick, 248-894-4506

The Royal Oak Community Coalition has been selected as a founding member in the 100 Pioneers for Smoking Cessation Virtual Leadership Academy under the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service (SAMHSA) new Tobacco-Free Campaign.  In recognition of the Coalition’s commitment to build the capacity of our local agencies, by providing technical assistance, resource development and implementation strategies, we can significantly help people kick the habit of tobacco use.

Tobacco dependence is a major public health issue.  Research indicates people with mental health concerns continue to smoke at alarming rate of 44%, compared to the general public rate of 19%.

Each year in Michigan 14,500 people die of tobacco related deaths and each year every Michigan household spends $637 in state and federal taxes due to costs associated with smoking related illnesses. (Source MI Smoke Free Air)

This project is aimed at partnering with 15 local mental health agencies to ensure their clients receive the most current and cutting edge assistance to challenge their nicotine addiction.

Diane Dovico, ROCC Executive Director, states ‘the coalition’s strengths of motivating participation and coordinating projects along with the coalition’s community creditability lead to this award.’ This initiative comes with financial support to help save lives and support recovery and treatment services for those with additional challenges. Robert Woods Foundation began work on this cessation project in 2003 with a five-year support grant.  Additional funding from the VA, and American Legacy Foundation followed the Robert Woods contributions. 

Royal Oak Community Coalition’s Cessation Network project is being roll out during the next six months. Key elements of the project include: increasing access to cessation resources, raise awareness of the effectiveness of smoking cessation programs, provide information on health insurance benefits that cover prescription and over the counter aid medications, and on-line training opportunities for the health professional.

To learn more about the Royal Oak Community Coalition and their activities including accessing resources to quit tobacco check out www.ci.royal-oak.mi.us/rocc .

Making even a small dent in reducing the use of tobacco in high-risk groups will have a large impact in the overall community’s health.  Our goal is to help those who want to quit to get the help and support they need to succeed.

Resource Matrix

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Cessation_Matrix 8-10-09.pdf	33.24 KB