152161 Faux prescription pads: Just what the doctor ordered

Monday, November 5, 2007

Laurie Thomas, MPA , Tobacco Use Prevention Program, Maricopa County, Phoenix, AZ
Maricopa County Tobacco Use Prevention Program (MACTUPP) values and works to build partnerships with many public and private businesses. As a partnership, MACTUPP has recently joined forces with two large retail grocery store pharmacies Fry's Food and Drug and Basha's.

Over 140 store pharmacies are promoting smoking cessation classes offered by Maricopa County. Professional looking prescription pads have been designed and printed for pharmacists/medical care professionals to direct their customers/patients who use tobacco to our quit classes. These pads include the pharmacy and MACTUPP logo and phone number. Pharmacies also distribute quit brochures in English and Spanish on countertops. In turn MACTUPP refers clients to their stores for over the counter and prescription nicotine replacement therapies.

Pharmacists at these stores write these faux prescriptions to their customers who either smoke or chew tobacco. People who are counseled by their medical health provider to make a quit attempt are much more likely to follow through on that advice when a prescription referral is used.

The partnerships developed have enabled MACTUPP to increase services to all county residents.

Learning Objectives:
1. Identify 4 ways to leverage pharmacy professionals in referring to tobacco cessation referral quitlines. 2. Design unique ways to display counter information which will invite customers to take action on their desire to quit tobacco.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No
Any institutionally-contracted trials related to this submission?

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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