Tobacco Unfiltered: Conversations with Clinicians

The National Director of Tobacco & Health Policy for VA, the largest integrated health care system in the US, Dr. Kim Hamlett-Berry, PhD, joins to discuss key elements to facilitate tobacco treatment at the healthcare system level, primary challenges to implementing tobacco treatment and future directions for further reducing the prevalence of tobacco use.

Tobacco use is a chronic, relapsing condition. Dr. Megan Kelly, PhD, Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 1 Tobacco Cessation Lead and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, joins to discuss the continuum of addiction and treatment needs for tobacco dependence. She also describes strategies and key elements for setting up a comprehensive tobacco treatment program in a medical center.

I'm busy and have limited time with patients, how do I fit this in? A pulmonologist at the Minneapolis VA and faculty at the University of Minnesota School of Medicine, Dr. Anne Melzer, MD, joins to discuss why she prioritizes and how she incorporates assessment and advice for tobacco cessation into her patient visits. She describes typical patient responses, how to address them and what constitutes a minimal intervention by a provider.

Nicotine patches, gum, lozenges, varenicline – how well do these work? And how do you decide which medication to use? Dr. Timothy Chen, PharmD, Director of the VA Tobacco Cessation Clinical Resource Center, joins to discuss how to consider medication effectiveness in the context of an addiction, the decision-making process for choosing medications, and how to address patient reluctance to use tobacco cessation medications.

An important part of evidence-based treatment, counseling may sound a little intimidating to both patients and providers. Dr. Ellen Herbst, MD, Associate Chief of Addiction Treatment at the San Francisco VA and clinical professor at University of California, San Francisco, joins to discuss what counseling involves, how to provide brief counseling, and how to tailor your approach for patients who may not be ready to quit.

People with mental health conditions smoke at higher rates, have more difficulty quitting and less access to tobacco treatment. Dr. Jodi Prochaska, PhD, Professor of Medicine at Stanford University, a preeminent researcher on tobacco treatment in mental health populations, joins to discuss the importance of treating tobacco use in this population, how to effectively do so, and debunks myths that present barriers to treatment.

We know smoking is bad for health, but it goes well beyond lung cancer. Dr. Brenna VanFrank, MD, Senior Medical Officer for the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), joins to discuss the many impacts of tobacco use –physical health (13 types of cancer), mental health and consequences of addiction. She reminds us why every single health care provider across disciplines and specialties should address their patients' tobacco use.