Q: What policies and programs is your state/territory implementing to decrease tobacco use among military personnel and families? Please share a description of the program/policy efforts, as well as samples of materials, links to websites, etc.

A:

1. California: The California Tobacco Control Program’s (CTCP) funded project, the California Youth Advocacy Network (CYAN) established Project UNIFORM (Undoing Nicotine Influence From Our Respected Military) in 2005.  Project UNIFORM builds military-civilian partnerships to address tobacco use in military communities by creating collaborative bridges between military tobacco cessation programs and services offered by the state of California as a means to decrease the number of service members who use tobacco.
    
   Project UNIFORM staff works throughout the state to: provide culturally appropriate cessation information and training to existing military cessation programs on California military installations; strengthen awareness of cessation services available to military service personnel through coordination with local and national military organizations/support networks and advocates; and educate tobacco control professionals on the culture and existing services within the Armed Forces of the United States.
    
   Project UNIFORM has worked throughout California and the country to create partnerships that address tobacco use by members of military communities. Some of Project UNIFORM’s accomplishments include: partnering with a California naval hospital on the passage of a campus tobacco-free policy ; the creation of a guide for public health civilians working with military communities; extensive installation-specific trainings and development of cessation protocols including with Ft. Hunter Liggett to establish a fax-referral system in conjunction with the California Smokers’ Helpline and a statewide, Navy-specific fax-referral system for the State of Virginia; and a guide to encourage non-traditional partners to provide brief tobacco cessation interventions.
    
   Project UNIFORM is guided by a board of advisors consisting of military health advocates, CTCP staff, military community members and active duty former service members.  Project UNIFORM collaborates extensively with the California Smoker’s Helpline providing annual trainings on the uniqueness of military culture to ensure an advanced level of cultural understanding to each call and has worked with other state tobacco quit lines to ensure military culture is included in counselor trainings. Project UNIFORM also provides training to college health center staff on how to reach current and former military personnel attending college who may need cessation services.
    
   Project UNIFORM staff has presented on the Project UNIFORM model and military-civilian partnerships at many national conferences, including: the Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Conference, the Armed Forces Public Health Conference, the Force Health Protection Conference, American Public Health Association Conference, the National Conference on Tobacco or Health, and served as a Plenary speaker at the 5th National Summit on Smokeless and Spit Tobacco.  Most recently, Project UNIFORM staff served on the stakeholders panel at the public release of the first ever National Prevention Strategy in Washington DC . UNIFORM staff discussed the work Project UNIFORM has been doing with military communities and how the National Prevention Strategy can be utilized within this population.
    
   CTCP and Project UNIFORM staff are interested in participating on a national military conference call.  For more information on Project UNIFORM, contact Colleen Haydon at 916-339-3424 ext. 26 or colleen@projectuniform.org. Resources and materials are available for those working with the military on the Project UNIFORM website, www.projectuniform.org.
    
2. Connecticut: The sub base we have here in Connecticut does have tobacco use cessation support available on the base.
    
3. Florida: Florida currently is not addressing tobacco use in the military.
    
4. Montana: Our program created a quitline brochure for military personnel about a year ago; click here to download a copy. To date, we haven’t specifically implemented a statewide campaign on this topic specifically but have made it available to our Tobacco Prevention Specialists (TPS) out the field. Some of them have more of a need for it than others depending on the population in their service areas. J. Rick Gale is one of our Tobacco Prevention Specialists, and he works in Gallatin County here in Montana. He attends monthly meetings with veteran service providers where he provides ongoing tobacco cessation and prevention messaging.
    
5. New Hampshire: We are just now starting to think about working with military personnel in a more meaningful way. We have had some links in the past but would like to rely on our own specific relationship with the National Guard and vets in general. We may have some news and more formal relationships by the end of the year.
    
6. New Jersey: Our website lists the links to the federal military's quitline services. Each branch has a branded quit site. Go to njgasp.org.

Editor’s note - October 2011: Thank you to all the states that responded and to those that communicated their interest in participating in a workgroup or teleconference to learn more about addressing tobacco use among military personnel and families. At this time, the TCN staff are communicating with our national partners to determine how best to facilitate the exchange of information on effective strategies and emerging issues with regard to tobacco use in this population. Please watch the TCN listserv for updates!

Back to Table of Contents