Tobacco.org

Mayo Clinic builds on its Global Bridges commitment, announces Smoke-free Worksite Challenge 

This multi-sector partnership between private sector companies, nongovernmental organizations and governments aims to increase the number of employees who are able to work in a smoke-free environment.

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Early morning smokers have higher cancer risk 

Smokers who indulge in their first cigarette shortly after waking up have an increased risk of developing lung and head and neck cancers, according to two new studies published in Cancer, a journal of the American Cancer Society.

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NIH: Potential new target for smoking cessation without weight gain 

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• Health care alliance for tobacco dependence treatment launches training in Mexico 

Global Bridges, a healthcare alliance for tobacco dependence treatment based at Mayo Clinic, and its regional partner, the InterAmerican Heart Foundation (IAHF) in Dallas, Texas, announced today the first of a series of training courses for health care providers in Latin America on how to successfully treat tobacco users.

The initial training, developed in collaboration with several regional and global expert groups and scheduled for April 28 as part of the National Congress of Pneumology and Thoracic Surgery in Puebla, Mexico, will engage 50 clinicians. Gustavo Zabert, M.D., a pulmonologist, who is the regional director for Global Bridges, developed and will teach the eight-hour course along with international experts in treatment of tobacco dependence Carlos Jiménez Ruiz, M.D., Ph.D., of Spain and Raúl Sansores, M.D., of Mexico.

"Tobacco usage is difficult to measure in Latin America. But rates are at least as high as 42.1 percent for men in Chile, and 32.5 percent for women in Bolivia. By offering this training, we are making a step towards addressing the tobacco epidemic," says Dr. Zabert, who also holds leadership positions in the Latin American Thoracic Society and the Latin American Coalition for Tobacco Dependence Treatment.

Global Bridges -- a collaboration among Mayo Clinic's School for Continuous Professional Development and Nicotine Dependence Center, the American Cancer Society and the University of Arizona -- was established in 2010 as a worldwide, science-based initiative to help health care providers unite to treat tobacco use and dependence while advocating for effective tobacco control policies. During

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Health-care alliance for tobacco dependence treatment launches training in the Middle East 

Global Bridges, a healthcare alliance for tobacco dependence treatment based at Mayo Clinic, and its regional partner, King Hussein Cancer Center (KHCC) in Amman, Jordan, announced today that they will start training health care providers in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMRO) on how to successfully treat tobacco users.

The first training, scheduled for April 27-28 at KHCC, will engage 15 health care professionals from Jordan. Feras Hawari, M.D., director of the Cancer Control Office at KHCC and regional director for Global Bridges, will conduct this workshop. In addition, KHCC will collaborate with other regional and international organizations to hold a four-day regional workshop in June.

"Prevalence of tobacco use is high in most of the Eastern Mediterranean countries, and only a few countries have structured tobacco dependence services. By offering training, we are making a step towards addressing this epidemic," says Dr. Hawari, who is also chief of pulmonary and critical care service at KHCC.

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