Nicotine use, Mental Health, Harm Reduction & Electronic Cigarettes

One of the most overlooked and under-treated addiction is to nicotine. Yet, cigarette smoking kills more Americans than AIDS, alcohol, car accidents, murders, suicides, drugs and fires combined. People with co-occurring disorders have high rates of smoking and according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness; smoking kills about 200,000 people with a psychiatric disability every year. But now, because of the availability of a new nicotine delivery device, the electronic cigarette, we can assist smokers to reduce the harms of smoking tobacco. Studies of e-cigarette users suggest stronger affinity and satisfaction with this form of nicotine replacement therapy. E-cigarettes have the potential to save lives, extend life expectancy and reduce or eliminate smoking-related illnesses. Therefore, it’s critical that agencies providing mental health, medical and drug treatment services or supportive housing to people with a mental illness and/or a substance use issue address nicotine addiction. This half-day, multimedia workshop is designed for health care providers, front-line staff who work with people with a mental illness in drug treatment and supportive housing settings, researchers, students and administrators.

Workshop participants will learn about:

• The brain biology of nicotine addiction

• The connection between mental illness & nicotine addiction

• The benefits of nicotine

• Explain & demonstrate how E-Cigarettes work

• Review current global research on the safety & efficacy of E-Cigarettes

• Discuss the current controversies around vaping

• The FDA, the E-Cigarette industry & the regulation of E-Cigarettes

• How to talk with clients/patients about transitioning to E-Cigarettes

• Funding issues/affordability of E-Cigarettes

• How to develop a tobacco harm reduction program in your facility

Helen Redmond LCSW has over 15 years of experience working with adults with co-occurring disorders in medical and community settings. She is a Harm Reduction Specialist at Community Access, adjunct faculty at the Silver School of Social Work at New York University, and a drug policy reporter for AlterNet.