NACDD is thrilled to announce the receipt of two new projects as part of the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health Building Capacity to Increase Commercial Tobacco Cessation cooperative agreement. The projects will support state-level capacity building for evidence-based cessation interventions, prioritizing strategies that reach populations experiencing tobacco-related disparities. These efforts further expand NACDD’s tobacco use prevention and control infrastructure within the Center for Advancing Healthy Communities, which includes the National Disability Inclusion Network for Tobacco Control and Cancer Prevention. The Disability Inclusion Network seeks to address tobacco- and cancer-related disparities among people with disabilities including U.S. Veterans.

The recent Surgeon General’s Report, “Eliminating Tobacco-related Disease and Death: Addressing Disparities,” highlights the ongoing challenges of reducing tobacco-related disease and death. Smoking remains the leading cause of preventable disease in the United States. Through the National Tobacco Control Program (NTCP), state and territorial health departments are empowered to establish robust infrastructures supporting comprehensive tobacco control initiatives. In collaboration with the American Lung Association, American Academy of Family Physicians, AllianceChicago, the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah, the Center for Health Care Strategies, and other state and national partners, NACDD will offer training and technical assistance to the NTCP workforce.

Component 2 of the Building Capacity to Increase Commercial Tobacco Cessation cooperative agreement will promote and support the implementation of health systems change initiatives that seek to integrate tobacco dependence treatment into routine clinical care across clinical settings. Similarly, Component 3 will promote and support improvements to health insurance coverage for evidence-based tobacco cessation treatments, including individual, quitline, and group counseling, as well as FDA-approved medications. Efforts will increase knowledge and implementation of evidence-based interventions to advance health systems change and insurance coverage using strategies that include national training and technical assistance, learning collaboratives, and resource hubs. Through both projects, NACDD and CDC will address the needs of state and territorial health departments and their partners to build capacity to collectively advance tobacco cessation through health systems change and insurance coverage.

The Surgeon General’s report also notes that “although people with disabilities disproportionately use tobacco products compared with people with no disabilities, research and tailored interventions to reduce tobacco use in this population remain scarce.” NACDD is partnering with the Lakeshore Foundation to lead the National Disability Inclusion Network for Tobacco Control and Cancer Prevention. The Disability Inclusion Network works to advance the prevention of commercial tobacco use and cancer in populations experiencing tobacco- and cancer-related health disparities with a focus on people with disabilities including U.S. Veterans. NACDD is proud to highlight the accomplishments of the Disability Inclusion Network in its first year including the recruitment of 10 national organizations to its advisory board and the engagement of participants from six states (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin) in a community of practice (CoP). These efforts aim to drive policy, systems, and environmental changes that enhance the lives of people with disabilities.

The Disability Inclusion Network successfully hosted the first two webinars in its series, Including People with Disabilities – A Training Series for Tobacco Control And Cancer Prevention Professionals. The webinars attracted 940 registrants and 478 attendees, with participants reporting statistically significant knowledge gains across all learning objectives. In its second year, the Disability Inclusion Network plans to continue the training series, develop fact sheets to accompany the webinars, and launch both a second CoP and a resource repository to enhance access to inclusive tobacco control and cancer prevention resources. Additionally, the Network will sustain its social media campaigns and develop an inclusive mass-media campaign to complement the CDC’s Tips from Former Smokers campaign.

NACDD remains dedicated to driving progress in tobacco and chronic disease prevention and control through these impactful initiatives.