2012 Eastern Europe - Helping Smokers Quit (EE-HSQ)

The major identified needs in the Czech Republic and Poland are three-fold:

(1)   To address the epidemic of tobacco use and the resulting cancers in the Czech Republic and Poland,

(2)   To engage nurses in the fight against tobacco and to promote cancer prevention,

(3)   To build capacity among nurses in the Czech Republic and Poland to continue working on smoking cessation and thereby cancer prevention initiatives. 

Working together, nurses and physicians can raise the global level of awareness about the harms of tobacco use, the cancer it causes, and the benefits of prevention and cessation, both within their individual communities, nationally, and internationally.  We can work together to improve health, decrease cancer rates, and improve both quantity and quality of life.  

The EE-HSQ will educate and prepare nurses on advances in tobacco control, through a proposed collaborative project that includes e-learning programs on tobacco control and tobacco cessation; and distribution of Tobacco Cessation Toolkits tailored for nurses in the Czech Republic and Poland.  The proposed 2-year project will involve multidisciplinary collaboration to build capacity among nurses in the Czech Republic and Poland to enhance their engagement in tobacco control and thereby cancer prevention.