Webinars

SCLC's webinar series is integral to the technical assistance provided by the SCLC. Nationally recognized smoking cessation experts offer the latest information related to smoking cessation (including effective interventions) for the general and the behavioral health populations.

The Goals of SCLC’s Webinar Series:

  • Provide training and technical assistance to raise awareness of the many benefits smoking cessation efforts and to increase understanding of effective smoking cessation strategies.
  • Implement or enhance existing tobacco cessation services using evidence-based practices.
  • Ensure that consumers and staff have access to smoking cessation services and support to promote health and wellness.
  • Establish partnerships between behavioral health and nicotine cessation organizations to increase available tobacco cessation resources in communities. 

SCLC has over 100 webinars covering the latest topics on tobacco addiction and recovery

 

Current Webinars

Navigating the Intersection of Tobacco and Opioid Use Disorder

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Speakers

Shadi Nahvi, MD, MS

Professor, Departments of Medicine, and of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Albert Einstein College of Medicine / Montefiore Health System

Dr. Shadi Nahvi is Professor (with tenure) in the Departments of Medicine and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and directs the General Internal Medicine and Addiction Medicine Fellowship Programs.  Her research focuses on optimizing quality of life and health outcomes among persons with substance use disorder.

Dr. Nahvi’s research is grounded in nearly two decades of clinical experience as a primary care physician caring for persons with opioid and other substance use disorders. Her primary research focus is optimizing the efficacy and delivery of tobacco cessation treatments among persons with co-occurring substance use disorders. Currently, she is Principal Investigator of a NIDA R01-funded randomized, 2 x 2 factorial trial of directly observed and long-term varenicline treatment among smokers with opioid use disorder. She has also led a KL2 Career Development Award-funded, randomized, placebo-controlled pilot trial of varenicline for smoking cessation among smokers with co-morbid substance use disorder, a study of health system-level interventions to increase documentation and treatment of tobacco use among substance use disorder counselors, and a randomized trial of the efficacy of directly observed varenicline provided at a methadone clinic for promoting smoking cessation and enhancing adherence. 

Dr. Nahvi graduated from the Brown University School of Medicine in 2001 and completed residency training in Primary Care Internal Medicine at Bellevue Hospital and New York University Medical Center in 2004.  She then joined the faculty in the Albert Einstein College of Medicine Division of Substance Abuse as the Medical Director of an opioid treatment program. From 2006-2008, Dr. Nahvi completed a faculty fellowship supported by the Bronx Center to Reduce and Eliminate Ethnic and Racial Health Disparities and received a MS in Clinical Research Methods. 

Dr. Nahvi has served on numerous national advisory committees, including serving as a member of the Advisory Committee of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco Health Disparities Network, and co-chair of the Evaluation Committee of the Health Disparities Network; a member of the NY State Department of Health AIDS Institute’s Guideline Committee for the Care of Substance Users; and a Steering Committee member of the NY State Department of Health AIDS Institute's Tobacco Cessation Improvement Campaign.

Webinar Objectives:

  1. Explain the burden of tobacco use among people with opioid use disorder
  2. Describe the importance of treating tobacco use among people with opioid use disorder
  3. Describe two treatments and health system strategies to address tobacco use among people with opioid use disorder

Upcoming Webinars

Empowering Change: Using Brief Motivational Interviewing for Tobacco Cessation in Oral Cancer Prevention, co-hosted by the American Dental Hygienists’ Association

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Speakers

Michelle Arnett, MS, RDH

Assistant Professor, Department of Primary Dental Care, Division of Dental Hygiene, University of Minnesota, School of Dentistry

Michelle Arnett currently serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Primary Dental Care, Division of Dental Hygiene at the University of Minnesota (UMN) School of Dentistry (SOD). She has 20 years of clinical practice experience and nine years of experience in academics and research at the University of Michigan SOD and the UMN SOD. Her areas of
research focus are motivational interviewing and periodontology in addition to topics to enhance her teaching, student mentorship, and dental hygiene educator burnout.


Michelle Arnett teaches Communications, Periodontology, and the Process of Care in Allied Oral Health: Clinical Application III and IV in the UMN SOD dental hygiene undergraduate program and Thesis I and the Capstone Track in the UMN dental hygiene graduate program. Her professional memberships include Sigma Phi Alpha-Nu Chapter, American Dental Hygienists’ Association (ADHA), and the American Dental Education Association (ADEA).

JoAnn Gurenlian, RDH, MS, PhD, AAFAAOM, FADHA

Director, Education, Research & Advocacy, American Dental Hygienists’ Association

JoAnn Gurenlian is the Director of Education, Research, & Advocacy for the American Dental Hygienists’ Association (ADHA). Prior to joining the ADHA, Dr. Gurenlian served as Professor and Graduate Program Director for the Department of Dental Hygiene at Idaho State University and is Professor Emerita. She is a Fellow in the ADHA and an Affiliate Academic Fellow in the American Academy of Oral Medicine, Past President of the IFDH and the ADHA, and Consultant to the ADA Council on Scientific Affairs. Dr. Gurenlian is the co-author of the textbook “Preventing Medical Emergencies” and author of over 350 papers in dental hygiene, dental and medical publications. She has conducted over 650 presentations at regional, national, and international events.

Dr. Gurenlian has served as Chair of the ADHA Task Force on Return to Work and more recently was a member of the ADA Expert Panel for the evaluation of potential malignant disorders of the oral cavity.

Dr. Gurenlian is the recipient of numerous awards including the IADR Oral Health Research Group 25th Oral Health Research Award, ADHA Presidential Citation, Esther Wilkins Lifetime Achievement Award, Alfred C. Fones Award, Irene Newman Award, ADHA/Warner Lambert Award for Excellence, and the ADHA Distinguished Service Award.

Rebecca M.

Participant in the 2016 Tips From Former Smokers campaign

A native of Texas, Rebecca, age 57, started smoking cigarettes as a teenager. She lived among a family of heavy
smokers, which influenced her to start smoking. “I grew up in an environment where everyone around me smoked.
As a 16-year-old trying to find my way, I just picked it up,” she said.

Like many former smokers, Rebecca’s journey to quitting was a bumpy one. She quit smoking for 7 months in 2002
but went back to smoking while struggling through a divorce. She became depressed and turned to cigarettes again,
thinking that they might help her cope with her feelings. Instead, she felt worse. “I went back to this self-defeating
addiction. That was just a vicious, vicious cycle,” said Rebecca.

Rebecca’s struggle with depression wasn’t the only reason she wanted to quit smoking. Her father was a heavy
smoker and died after having a serious heart attack. “I watched a lot of my family members who were smokers
deteriorate; literally, their bodies would deteriorate as they grew older. So when it started happening to me, I was hit
in the face with reality.” Rebecca knew her health was in jeopardy when she developed severe gum disease, a risk
for smokers. She needed major dental work—including bone grafts and eventually dental implants—to restore her
missing teeth.

Rebecca decided to stop smoking when her grandson was born. She wanted to be a good role model and never
smoke around him. So, she stopped smoking cigarettes and committed herself to a healthier lifestyle, including
getting care for her depression. “I finally realized I had to look to myself for my own happiness and health. I had to
quit,” she said.

Since quitting smoking, Rebecca has a new outlook on life. She began running while taking her grandson along for a
ride in his stroller. This helped her to manage stress and depression and to stay smokefree. Six months after starting
to run, Rebecca ran her first 5K. “I actually placed third place in my age group. That gave me the confidence to keep
going,” she said.

As Rebecca started enjoying life as a nonsmoker, she felt encouraged by the positive changes and progress she’s
made. She discovered that she doesn’t need cigarettes to cope with her feelings, even when life may get her down.
“Running became the way I felt better. When I have a bad day or feel a little stressed out, I just go for a run and I’m
back on track.”

Rebecca was so excited about her fresh start that she completed a personal training certification course, which
helped her learn even more about taking good care of her health. “I learned that I have the power to change. It is all
within me,” said Rebecca.

As for cigarettes, Rebecca encourages other people to quit smoking. “It’s about taking control of your life and where
you want to be in your life.”
 

Webinar Objectives:

This program is designed to inform healthcare professionals with the latest insights into oral cancer statistics and equip them with practical skills in utilizing brief motivational interviewing (BMI) techniques to address tobacco cessation. Participants will gain an understanding of the impact of tobacco on one’s health and well-being and learn how to engage in effective conversations that motivate patients to quit smoking. This course will emphasize the application of Ask, Advise, Refer strategies, empowering healthcare professionals to actively contribute to oral cancer prevention efforts.

Webinar Objectives

  1. Review the most recent oral and oropharyngeal cancer statistics, identifying the impact of tobacco use on oral health.
  2. Explain the impact of tobacco use on one’s health and well-being.
  3. Describe a foundational understanding of motivational interviewing techniques, focusing on the principles and applications relevant to tobacco cessation in the context of oral health.
  4. Assess patient’s readiness to quit smoking using brief motivational interviewing, recognizing key indicators, and tailoring interventions accordingly.
  5. Develop skills in initiating and guiding change conversations with patients, employing brief motivational interviewing strategies to enhance motivation and commitment to tobacco cessation.
  6. Describe an Ask, Advise, Refer framework and its application in encouraging patients to quit smoking.
  7. Explain available resources for both healthcare professionals and patients facilitating ongoing tobacco cessation efforts.