Lasting Impressions | Summer 2016

NSU COLLEGE OF DENTAL MEDICINE x 23 The free tobacco-cessation program was developed by the Area Health Education Centers and is now available to all Floridians through funding received from the 1998 settlement between Florida and the tobacco industry. Groups typically include 6 to 12 smokers, assisted by a well-trained tobacco-cessation specialist. Smokers can opt for the six-week or the single, two-hour program. Both formats offer, if needed, free nicotine patches, lozenges, or gums to help in the quit process. The cessation specialists also give smokers practical tips to prepare them to quit and cope with the emotional, physical, and psychological triggers. “Having a conversation with a dentist or other health provider, followed by participating in a tobacco- cessation program, can nearly triple the success rate for those who wish to stop smoking—to around 30 percent, as compared to about 11 percent success for those who quit without help,” said Zucker. “Although there are groups to help people lose weight, stop drinking, and correct any number of bad habits, there were few avenues for tobacco- cessation group support.” In Broward County, for example, no one should have to travel more than eight miles to join a free AHEC smoking-cessation group. Also, sessions are scheduled at convenient times. Overall, the NSU team runs programs throughout 19 South and Central Florida counties. Noreen LaBonte quit smoking through one of the NSU AHEC cessation programs and now works as an AHEC tobacco treatment specialist, running three groups a week in Palm Beach County. “My life has changed dramatically since I quit smoking,” said LaBonte. Zablotsky tells students that empathy is the key to winning over skeptical patients. “One patient said, ‘Why do you keep bothering me about this?’ And I said, ‘Because I care about you,’ ” she explained. Once a patient agrees to discuss tobacco use, the dental professional might offer some overall health reasons for quitting, said third-year dental student Adam Saltz. “Some people will quit just because they want whiter teeth,” he said. “We highlight the outcomes. I will tell them that an implant could fail because of poor periodontal behavior.” Now that smoking cessation is built into the college’s curriculum, the CDM and AHEC tobacco teams are working on efforts to train CDM faculty members, as well as hygienists and dentists already in practice, through local and statewide profes- sional associations. The organizers hope these CDM efforts to involve dentists and dental hygienists in tobacco cessation will move well beyond Florida. Mejia and Brodie recently presented an overview of the NSU CDM tobacco- cessation program to a national dental education group. Although still in its first decade of operation, the statewide AHEC tobacco-cessation program has trained more than 120,000 health professionals to help their tobacco-dependent patients. “One day, every health professional will be trained in this war against tobacco. At that point, the smoking rates will drop like a rock,” Zucker said. ◆ Individuals who are referred by a health care provider to the AHEC cessation services are three times more likely to quit. For more information on these free I-Quit with AHEC cessation services, call 877-848-6696 or visit ahectobacco.com .