State Quitline
The Hawaii Tobacco Quitline is a free, convenient and confidential telephone service staffed with specially trained Quit Coaches who help smokers quit with proven methods, nicotine replacement therapy like the patch (free for the uninsured) and free Quit Guides. For more information on Call It Quits, visit www.callitquitshawaii.org. Let's help make Hawaii smoke free by referring smokers to Call It Quits, The Hawaii Tobacco Quitline at 1-800-QUIT NOW (800 784-8669).

Circle of Kauai
The Circles of Kauai Smoking Cessation Program began in March 2005 as an outreach to women in attempt to encourage them to form support groups and quit smoking through a self-help program. The self-help program relies on a Legacy Foundation QuitBook. This program was focused on women because it was believed that men would be hesitant to form their own support groups. What they have discovered, however, is that both women and men are responding better to a support group consisting of fellow smokers, rather than one consisting of their supportive nonsmoking family and friends.

Wilcox Hospital
On Oct. 1, of 2004, Wilcox Health went completely smoke free on all its campuses. Smoking is now prohibited both indoors and outdoors on all properties owned and leased by Wilcox Health. Along with this sea change, Wilcox Health applied for and was awarded a grant from the Hawaii Community Foundation to hire a full-time, smoking cessation specialist for patients and anyone who wants to quit smoking. Sandy Higgins is trained in Brief Interventions and received specialized cessation training in the Tobacco Treatment Specialist Core Certification training program at the University of Massachusetts.

Dr. Michael Fiore
Tobacco-Free Kauai brought in national cessation expert Dr. Michael Fiore to present his most recent findings and lend his expertise concerning the Brief Intervention model of cessation treatment. A one-day conference was held for those community volunteers who had been previously trained in the technique, followed by a luncheon. The next evening, a one-hour CME training was offered to all primary care physicians on Kauai, followed by a dinner. This CME training was designed to encourage all physicians to support and use the Brief Intervention approach with each patient and to stress the importance of including smoking history on each patient's vital signs chart.

Brief Interventions
Developed by the University of Arizona, the Brief Intervention Model uses the "5 A's" (ask, advise, assess, assist, and arrange) in conjunction with Stages of Change Theory to deliver a brief, effective intervention to smokers. By first determining the smoker's readiness to change we can focus our attention on those who are ready to quit while still providing the minimal intervention to help those who are not ready to quit to become ready. At any given time 70% of all tobacco users wish they could quit. To make support accessible, our Community Interventions project provides an evidence-based training, certifying community individuals to perform non-offensive, helpful interventions with tobacco users. This training is available to employers for management in the workplace, healthcare or helping professionals, island clubs and organizations, as well as for interested community individuals. Download a Brief Intervention Encounter Form.

Health-Care Provider Project
The National Cancer Institute projects that if physicians assisted even 10% of their tobacco-using patients in quitting, the number of tobacco users in the U.S. would drop by an additional 2 million people per year! Based on the Clinical Practice Guide by Dr. Michael Fiore et al., our Health Care Providers project seeks to train physicians, dentists, and medical office staff in delivering a brief, effective intervention to tobacco users. We also provide them with a Tobacco-Free Me Starter Kit to help their patients work through the process of developing a quit plan and gaining their freedom from tobacco dependence.

Kauai District, Department of Education
Our districtwide tobacco prevention and cessation services project provides 2 full-time tobacco cessation specialists to provide tobacco-cessation services to students at all three school complexes on Kauai. Rebecca Smith, who works with both the Waimea and Kauai complexes, also offers tobacco-control services to the feeder elementary and middle schools, the Boys and Girls Club, and the community in general.

Valerie Saiki, who works with both the Kapaa and Kauai High complexes, provides similar services. She is a Kapaa and University of Hawaii graduate who also is the island coordinator for REAL - the statewide, youth-oriented tobacco-control group. Valerie is trained in cessation and tobacco control to help those who want to quit, and she offers educational information about the health dangers of tobacco use to students who may be considering the habit.