Living Tobacco Free is a Partners Prevention and Population Health Program dedicated to empowering individuals on their journey to quit tobacco. The program provides encouragement, resources and access to treatment providers and community support, fostering tobacco-free lives and healthier communities. In partnership with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS), this initiative aligns with statewide efforts to reduce tobacco use and promote wellness. To learn more, please see the program overview here.
Below is an offering of trainings, events and resources to support providers with supporting members to live tobacco free and in implementing the NC Tobacco Free Policy requirements. The implementation of the NC Tobacco Free Policy has been indefinitely postponed, and providers are not required to implement a tobacco-free campus by Jan. 1, 2027.
Please review the resources below, and if you need further assistance, feel free to contact us at RecoveryInitiatives@partnersbhm.org.
Important Resources and Links
The SmokeFree NC resource by the North Carolina Division of Public Health offers tools, information, and support for providers working to reduce tobacco exposure and promote smoke-free environments. It includes materials on smoke-free laws, secondhand smoke, smoke-free policies for multi-unit housing, and resources for tobacco-free schools and workplaces. This resource supports providers in creating healthier communities through tobacco prevention and control.
The North Carolina Tobacco Prevention and Control Branch provides evidence-based strategies and resources for reducing tobacco use and promoting tobacco-free living across the state. This site offers tools and information for healthcare providers to help prevent smoking initiation, eliminate secondhand smoke exposure, and support tobacco cessation efforts, with a focus on advancing health equity.
Providers can visit BreatheEasyNC.org for expert guidance and resources on implementing tobacco-free policies and evidence-based tobacco treatment strategies. The site offers technical assistance, training, and access to regional or local tobacco control staff who can support providers through every step of policy adoption and tobacco cessation efforts, ensuring effective and comprehensive tobacco control in their practices.
QuitlineNC for Tailored Plan Members offers free, confidential tobacco cessation support, including personalized quit plans, coaching, and access to nicotine replacement therapy (NRT). This service is specifically tailored for members of Partners Health Management’s Tailored Plan, providing evidence-based strategies and resources to help individuals quit tobacco. Healthcare providers can refer patients to ensure they receive comprehensive support, including NRT options, for a successful quit journey.
QuitlineNC offers free, confidential tobacco cessation services for North Carolina residents, including those on Standard Plans, Medicaid Direct, uninsured, and privately insured individuals. These services provide personalized quit plans, coaching, and resources for specialized populations. Healthcare providers can refer patients to receive evidence-based support, along with tools like the American Indian Quitline and Live Vape Free for youth, making it a valuable resource for comprehensive patient care.
The QuitlineNC Billing Guide for Tobacco Cessation provides guidance on billing for tobacco cessation counseling services in North Carolina, including information on relevant CPT codes, reimbursement processes, and best practices for providers. It outlines how healthcare professionals can receive compensation for offering tobacco cessation support to patients, ensuring proper billing procedures are followed.
Provider Trainings for Tobacco Use Treatment and Tobacco-Free Policies
Below is a list of trainings. There are recorded trainings that you are free to use on demand, upcoming FREE live trainings, and nationally accredited tobacco use treatment specialist trainings and scholarships. As always, your regional tobacco control staff are also available to provide or set up trainings for provider agencies.
Recorded Trainings:
Partners Living Tobacco Free Provider Kickoff Event recorded Tuesday 10/18/22 (2 hours)
Providing a Tobacco Free Culture of Care (3 hours)
Taking Psychosocial Rehabilitation Services Tobacco-Free: A Success Story from Maryland (1 hour)
Other Training Opportunities
Breathe Easy NC Tobacco Use Treatment Integration Training offers free, online, self-paced courses for healthcare providers on integrating evidence-based tobacco treatment into clinical practice. This training covers essential topics such as medications, brief interventions, trauma-informed care, and policy implementation, making it a valuable resource for providers looking to enhance their tobacco cessation support for patients.
American Lung Association offers provider-focused trainings covering a wide range of tobacco cessation topics, including youth tobacco cessation, evidence-based intervention strategies, tobacco cessation medications and the impact of tobacco use on substance use and mental health conditions. These courses support clinical practice and community-based efforts to advance tobacco-free care and improve lung health.
Rx for Change, offered by the University of California, San Francisco, provides comprehensive, evidence-based tobacco cessation training for health professionals. The program is designed for clinicians across all disciplines, equipping them with tools to assist patients in quitting tobacco use. The training covers topics such as comprehensive counseling, brief interventions, and specialty care areas like psychiatry and respiratory care. It’s a valuable resource for providers to enhance their tobacco cessation interventions.
Alison offers two free online courses on Motivational Interviewing, ideal for healthcare providers. The Motivational Interviewing for Healthcare Professionals course focuses on the core principles and techniques to help professionals guide patients through behavior change. The Basics of Motivational Interviewing course provides foundational knowledge on this empathetic, patient-centered approach. Both courses help providers enhance their communication skills and support lasting behavior change in patients.
Treatment Tools & Resources
The Partners Recovery Initiatives team has reviewed the recommended BreatheEasy NC and SmokeFree NC resources and developed a checklist of suggested action items to help your organization begin building and implementing a tobacco-free campus policy.
View the Tobacco-Free Campus Policy Checklist.
The Million Hearts Tobacco Cessation Change Package is a resource designed for healthcare providers to improve tobacco cessation interventions. It offers evidence-based strategies to help clinical teams integrate tobacco cessation into routine care, including screening, treatment, and follow-up processes. This resource provides practical, actionable ideas to enhance patient outcomes in tobacco use treatment.
The World Health Organization (WHO) 5A’s and 5R’s Toolkit provides practical guidance for healthcare providers to implement brief tobacco interventions in primary care settings. It focuses on the 5A’s (Ask, Advise, Assess, Assist, Arrange) and 5R’s (Relevance, Risks, Rewards, Roadblocks, Repetition) to encourage tobacco cessation during brief 3-5 minute clinical encounters, making it a useful tool for integrating tobacco treatment into routine care. In 2024, The WHO released a comprehensive clinical treatment guideline for tobacco cessation interventions in adults to be used by clinical and community health care providers. The guideline includes behavioral support interventions, digital cessation interventions and pharmacological treatments
The You Quit, Two Quit Bulletin offers updates and resources related to tobacco cessation for pregnant women, mothers and families. It includes evidence-based strategies, program highlights, and best practices for integrating tobacco screening and treatment into maternal healthcare. This resource is valuable for healthcare providers looking to support tobacco cessation efforts within maternal and infant health contexts.
SAMHSA offers practical guides to help providers implement tobacco use treatment in co-occurring behavioral health programs: