San Francisco, CA - March 19, 2009 - A new curriculum is now available online at no cost to help mental health peer counselors aid people with mental illnesses in quitting smoking, according to Steven Schroeder, M.D., director of the Smoking Cessation Leadership Center at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF).

Dr. Schroeder stated that the curriculum was developed because of the alarmingly high smoking rates of people with behavioral health issues. He said that despite impressive declines in the proportion of the general population that smokes (now at around 1 in 5 adults), persons with mental illness continue to smoke at disproportionate rates. It has been estimated that 44.3% of all cigarettes smoked in the United States are smoked by persons with mental illness.

With input from consumers, mental health professionals, advocates, and national leaders, the 3-hour Tobacco-Free for Recovery: Assisting Mental Health Consumers with Tobacco Cessation curriculum was designed by UCSF staff and Rx for Change faculty. This program was developed to equip peer counselors with the necessary knowledge and skills to assist mental health consumers with tobacco cessation. A smoke-free lifestyle is viewed as a vital element on the path toward wellness and recovery.

The new curriculum is a modified version of Rx for Change: Clinician-Assisted Tobacco Cessation, which draws upon the Clinical Practice Guideline for Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence, and is a comprehensive program for training students and clinicians in virtually any health professional field. Those who are interested can visit the Rx for Change website at http://rxforchange.ucsf.edu to register and download PowerPoint slides, audience handouts, and correspondence video segments that are relevant to the mental health peer counselor curriculum. All materials have been reviewed by experts and are provided at no cost, for shared use.

Dr. Schroeder, who is also UCSF distinguished professor of health and health care, noted that in response to the public health problem of high levels of tobacco use among mental health consumers, leaders of the mental health community convened and established the National Mental Health Partnership for Wellness and Smoking Cessation in March 2007. This partnership leveraged, among numerous issues, the value of consumer-centered education and health promotion. The new curriculum grew, in part, out of the work of the national partnership.

According to Dr. Schroeder, "This new curriculum is a unique resource to address an important need by helping to educate peer counselors, who can play a very key role in helping mental health consumers to quit smoking."

A three-hour webinar training is planned for April 13, 2009 at 9a.m. Pacific Time (noon Eastern Time). If you are interested in participating in this free webinar or know someone who is, please contact Reason Reyes by email at Reason.Reyes@ucsf.edu or by phone at toll-free (877) 509-3786. A follow-up email will be sent to you to confirm the logistics for the training.

For more information: http://smokingcessationleadership.ucsf.edu and http://rxforchange.ucsf.edu