Respiratory therapists should be able to understand tobacco addiction, how to effectively evaluate tobacco use, how to assess readiness to change and how to effectively treat tobacco addiction. Why?
Facts About Tobacco
- 480,000 people die each year from tobacco-related diseases
- 3,200 children become regular users of tobacco everyday
- Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death
- Secondhand smoke causes more than 42,000 premature deaths from heart disease in nonsmokers each year
- Over 23% of our high school students are currently using tobacco products
- E-cigarette use among high school students tripled between 2011 and 2013
- Quitting smoking before the age of 40 reduces the risk of dying from smoking-related disease by about 90%
We, as respiratory therapists, must take an active role in reducing this epidemic. We specialize in the treatment of tobacco-related disease, now let us specialize in understanding and treating the cause.
Tobacco Resources
Advocacy and Media
- American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation
- American Legacy Foundation: Truth Campaign
- American Lung Association The Center for Tobacco Policy & Organizing
- Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
- Challenge Big Tobacco
- PBC Frontline Interview: Smoke in the Eye
- Smokefree Movies
- Tobacco News and Information
Behavioral Health Resources
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Resources
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Resources
Education Curricula
- AARC Clinician Training for Tobacco Dependence for Respiratory Therapists (5 CRCE available)
- AARC Clinician’s Guide for Treating Tobacco Dependence (3 CRCE available)
- CATCH My Breath (CATCH.org) – programming for middle school children
- Rx for Change
- Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence Guidelines (PDF)
Electronic Nicotine Delivery System (ENDS)
- AARC Position Statement on e-Cigarettes
- AHA Contemporary Reviews in Cardiovascular Medicine: E-Cigarettes: A Scientific Review (Grana R, Benowitz N, Glantz SA)
- CDC: About Electronic Cigarettes
- FDA: Electronic Cigarettes
- American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Webinar: E-cigarettes: Research, Public Health Concerns and Opportunities, and Regulations
- Can vaping damage your lungs? What we do (and don’t) know (Harvard, 2019)
- Circulation (American Heart Association) resources on ENDS
- Cardiac Toxicity of Flavorings in Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (Abstract, 2019)
- E-vaping Induces Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension via Pathological Remodeling in the Lungs and Right Heart (Abstract, 2019)
- Exposure to E-Cigarette Adversely Affects Blood Pressure and Heart Rate in Healthy Individuals: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (Abstract, 2018)
- Electronic Cigarette Smoking Increases Arterial Stiffness and Oxidative Stress to a Lesser Extent Than a Single Conventional Cigarette (2018)
- Juul and Previous Generation E-cigarette Exposure Comparability Impair Vascular Endothelial Function (Abstract, 2019)
- Dangers of Vaping: Four E-Cigarette Health Risks for Kids (Northwestern Medicine)
- E-Cigarette Use Among Youth and Young Adults: A Report of the Surgeon General (2016)
- Environmental Health Perspectives – Metal Concentrations in e-Cigarette Liquid and Aerosol Samples: The Contribution of Metallic Coils (2018)
- How much nicotine is in JUUL? (Truth Initiative, 2019)
- Outbreak of Lung Injury Associated with E-cigarettes Use or Vaping (CDC, 2020)
- The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine: Public Health Consequences of E-Cigarettes (2018)
- The Practical Theorist: Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems; Juuling, other Trends and Community Prevention
- Surgeon General: Press Conference on E-Cigarette Advisory, December 2018
- Surgeon General: Know The Risks, E-cigarettes and Young People, The Facts
- Surgeon General: Know the Risks, E-cigarettes and Young People, The Resources
- Vaping Addiction and Nicotine Withdrawal (smokefree.gov)
- What are the long-term use effects of vaping? (Truth Initiative, 2019)
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Resources
- FDA Rules and Regulations for Tobacco Products
- FDA Guidance for Tobacco Products
- FDA Removal of Flavored Disposable E-Cigarettes and Youth-Appealing E-Liquids from Market
- Summary of FDA Deeming Rule to Regulate All Tobacco Products
- Tobacco 21 (2019)
- Tobacco Products Control
Guidelines and Strategies for Tobacco Treatment
- Core Competencies for Tobacco Treatment Specialist
- Healthy People 2020: Tobacco Use
- PHS Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence Guidelines (2008)
- WHO Framework Convention for Tobacco Control
Legislative Action
- Master Settlement Agreement (46 state agreement)
- Texas Tobacco Settlement In Brief
- Summary of Attorneys General Master Tobacco Settlement Agreement
- The Master Settlement Agreement with the Tobacco Industry and Cigarette Advertising in Magazines
- Tobacco Control Act of 2009
Organizations and Societies Dealing with Tobacco Use
- American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP)
- American Cancer Society (ACS)
- American Heart Association (AHA)
- American Lung Association (ALA)
- American Thoracic Society (ATS)
- Association for the Treatment of Tobacco Use and Dependence (ATTUD)
- Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids
- Center for Disease Control (CDC) Tobacco Control and Use
- North American Quitline Consortium
- Smoke Free Government
- Smoking Cessation Leadership Center (UCSF)
- Society for Nicotine Treatment (SRNT)
- Tobacco and the Elderly
- Tobacco Technical Assistance Consortium (TTAC)
Pharmacotherapy for the Tobacco User
- AARC Clinician’s Guide for Treating Tobacco Dependence (pages 27-29)
- FDA 101: Smoking Cessation Products
- Prescription Guidelines from The American Academy of Family Practice
Presentations
- Smoking in the Movies (PDF)
- Standards of Practice for a Tobacco Treatment Specialist (PDF)
- Tobacco Addiction: Why is it so powerful? (PDF)
Reimbursement for Tobacco Cessation
Smokeless Tobacco
Smoking Marijuana
Surgeon General’s Reports
- Tobacco Resources
- The Surgeon General’s tobacco resources website contains all past reports related to smoking as well as fact sheets, video and podcast series, and prevention initiatives.
- 2015: Let’s Make the Next Generation Tobacco-Free: Your Guide to the 50th Anniversary Surgeon General’s Report on Smoking and Health
- 2014 Surgeon General’s Report: The Health Consequences of Smoking – 50 Years of Progress
- 2012 Preventing Tobacco Use Among Youth and Young Adults: A Report of the Surgeon General
- 2010 How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease: The Biology and Behavioral Basis for Smoking-Attributable Disease
- 2006 The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke
Survey Results and Reports
- State of Tobacco Control (American Lung Association, 2015)
- Survey of adults:
- Survey of youth:
- Tobacco Control: US and international resources; links to at least one tobacco control resource for each state as well as international tobacco control resources
Tobacco Cessation Programs and Services
- American Cancer Society Quit for Life Program
- American Lung Association Freedom from Smoking Online
- CDC Cessation Materials for State Tobacco Control Programs
- Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence
- North American Quitline Consortium
- Smokefree.gov
- State and National Quitlines
- Videos about quitting (produced by the Mayo Clinic)
Tobacco Treatment Specialist (TTS) Information
AARC Tobacco Resources webpage updated on September 25, 2020
