Central Maine Behavioral Health Tobacco Treatment Collaborative

A dramatic reduction in tobacco use in the general population has occurred during the past 40 years, however, there has been almost no decrease in the smoking rate among those with serious behavioral health (BH) issues. Even though the BH population consumes 44% of all tobacco used in the United States, this population has been largely excluded from the greater societal movement toward minimizing smoking. In central Maine, the Behavioral Health Tobacco Treatment Collaborative has been working with the BH population and providers to identify and address barriers to effective tobacco treatment for those who wish to quit, and to increase the capacity of providers to encourage and support tobacco-free living. Presenters will give an overview of the challenges identified by the BH population to successful tobacco treatment. They will showcase materials developed with and for the BH population based on the stages of change model, as well as highlight the training, technical assistance and resources given to providers. Presenters will also describe state level policy initiatives that support tobacco-free living specifically for the BH population. Attendees will be able to describe how to gather input from the target population to inform all aspects of this type of project; identify key challenges for the BH population with regard to tobacco treatment; describe how the stages of change can be translated into proactive tobacco intervention; assess how materials developed may be tailored to their region, and identify state-level policy initiatives to support tobacco-free living for the BH population.