Director's Corner
15 Years Went By Fast
February 20, 2018
By: Steven A. Schroeder On January 15, 2003, the Smoking Cessation Leadership Center at UCSF officially began, thanks to a five-year grant from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and later supplemented by support from the then American Legacy Foundation, now Truth Initiative...
Looking Back at 2017
December 05, 2017
Looking back at 2017 The end of a year provides an opportunity to take stock as well as to look forward. Obviously, the most dramatic events in 2017 revolved around the change of administration in our federal government. Although tobacco was not a major feature in those...
Alcohol and tobacco—Can AA Groups help to break the connection?
August 08, 2017
By Steven A. Schroeder, MD It is well known that smoking and drinking go together. People who consume alcohol are much more likely to smoke, and vice versa. For those who struggle with alcoholism, the connection is even tighter, with smoking rates among alcoholics reaching up...
Staying Focused During Times of Uncertainty
April 07, 2017
We have now entered an era of uncertain federal support for tobacco control programs following 8 years of a federal government that worked to accelerate the decline of tobacco use. As Dr. Mike Fiore summarized in the October 13, 2016 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine...
No Other Health Intervention Could Yield Such Improvements to the Health of the American Public
January 06, 2017
A New Partnership with The American Cancer Society The new year marks the launch of a new partnership between the Smoking Cessation Leadership Center (SCLC) and the American Cancer Society (ACS) that will focus on smoking cessation among persons with behavioral health...
Election Results and Tobacco Control
November 14, 2016
The recent elections resulted in Republican takeover of the White House and retention of control of both houses of Congress. In addition, several initiatives regarding tobacco taxation and marijuana legalization were featured on state ballots. What do these election results...
New Youth-Focused Rules for Tobacco Products
May 19, 2016
This month two major governmental actions—one by the federal FDA and one by the state of California—were announced that have the potential to change the landscape regarding the use of tobacco products. As most users of our web site know, after long deliberation the FDA just...
In Memoriam: Margaret (Peggy) Walsh
February 01, 2016
Margaret (Peggy) Walsh, a renowned dental hygienist, tobacco control expert, and professor at the UCSF Dental School died January 23, 2016 at the age of 69 after a courageous three year battle against her illness. Peggy was a tireless crusader on behalf of reducing the use of...
Should Public Housing be Smoke-Free?
January 11, 2016
The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has recently issued a proposed rule that would require all public housing agencies (PHAs) to implement smoke-free policies in their developments. This would entail implementing a policy “prohibiting lit tobacco...
Is Smoking Yesterday’s News?
September 09, 2015
When I tell people what I do, they often ask, “isn’t smoking on its way out”? That attitude may be reinforced by the September, 2015 report from the CDC showing that for the first quarter of 2015 age-adjusted smoking rates for adults hit a modern low of 15.3%, down from 20.6% in...