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Project TEACH

Project Tobacco Education Among Clinics and Primary Health Care Organizations (TEACH)

In July 2008, the California Department of Public Health Services awarded a grant to Tarzana Treatment Centers, an alcohol and drug treatment center, to implement Project TEACH. The goal of the project is to work collaboratively with primary care clinics in Los Angeles County who are members of the Community Clinics Association of Los Angeles County (CCALAC) to adopt a voluntary policy that prohibits smoking by employees, patients, and visitors at the clinics sites.

A voluntary policy is a policy adopted by any person, business, or organization, and enforced only by those who control the place affected by the policy. Specifically, a smoke-free policy is when smoking is not permitted indoors, protects nonsmokers from the hazardous effects of secondhand smoke, and consists of defined designated smoking areas on the premises.

A smoke-free clinic is safer, cleaner, healthier, and results in a more productive workplaces. Smoke-free environments end up saving organizations thousands of dollars a year in maintenance fees.

Project TEACH staff are also working with CCALAC member organizations to assist the clinics in the adoption of the Ask, Advise, Refer (AAR) protocol. Clinics who adopt the AAR protocol will be instructed to determine patients smoking history and ask patients if they smoke, patients who smoke will be encouraged to quit, and individuals that are serious about quitting will be referred to smoking cessation hotlines and local smoking cessation services. The advice of a health care professional on the negative effects of smoking can more than double smoking cessation success rates.

Project Teach provides several free resources for interested clinics: * Technical Assistance * Purchase and Placement of No Smoking Signs * Sample Smoke-Free Policies * Educational Materials (Flyers, Pamphlets, and Booklets) * Staff Training * Smoking Cessation Directory * Public Recognition and Acknowledgment

If you have questions or would like more information on Project TEACH please call (818) 432-2264 or e-mail stoptobacco@tarzanatc.org