Recovery Plus: Living Tobacco Free

Audience: Anyone interested in working with substance abuse and mental health facilities to implement tobacco free campus policies and integrate tobacco cessation into treatment protocols. Key Points: People in Utah with substance abuse disorders and mental illness are particularly vulnerable to tobacco addiction. Intake data from the Utah Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health (DSAMH) indicates use rates as high as 68% among substance abuse clients. National data indicates that use rates are likely even higher among mental health clients. These statistics are particularly alarming when you consider that Utah has the lowest tobacco use rates in the nation at 8.8%. In 2009, the Utah Department of Health Tobacco Prevention and Control Program (TPCP) partnered with DSAMH to implement tobacco-free campus policies and integrate tobacco cessation into treatment protocols at all state funded substance abuse and mental health treatment facilities. The presentation will detail three phases of the project that were completed by July 2012: 1) training and conducting policy needs assessments at each of the facilities, 2) training staff and providing resources to meet challenges, and 3) policy development and launching cessation activities. Educational Experience: The audience will learn the key points and ideas of how to apply the information in their work through a case study of Utah’s experience working with publicly funded substance abuse and mental health treatment centers to changes social norms and implement a system wide change. Benefits: Increased understanding of how to address tobacco use in vulnerable populations.