:: NORTH AMERICAN QUITLINE CONSORTIUM ::

ABOUT THE NORTH AMERICAN QUITLINE CONSORTIUMNearly 70 percent of smokers want to quit smoking as a way to improve their health and quality of life. The addictive nature of tobacco and the pleasure that many users associate with smoking make quitting difficult, but with effective treatments (i.e., counseling and medications), smokers and other tobacco users stand a greater chance of succeeding in their attempts to become tobacco-free. Through the Consortium, quitline professionals work together to increase access to and the effectiveness of quitline services that help people in their quitting attempts.MISSION & BACKGROUNDQuitlines are a service that offers telephone support for people who want to quit using tobacco. The service involves providing information and counseling. Some quitlines offer additional services such as medications, online cessation information and programs, and referral to community-based cessation programs. Research has shown that quitlines are an effective way to deliver tobacco cessation services.The number of states and provinces in North America offering quitline services for smokers and other tobacco-users has increased exponentially in the last decade. Today, residents in all ten provinces in Canada and all 50 states and the District of Columbia in the USA have access to quitline services. The dramatic growth in the number of these services has led to an increased awareness of the important role quitlines can play in assisting smokers and a desire to better understand the operations, promotion, and effectiveness of quitlines.The North American Quitline Consortium (NAQC) seeks to unite health departments, quitline service providers, researchers and national organizations in the United States and Canada to enable these quitline professionals to learn from each other and to improve quitline services.NAQC`s mission is to:

Maximize the access, use, and effectiveness of quitlines;
Provide leadership and a unified voice to promote quitlines and
Offer a forum to link those interested in quitline operations.

In 2004, the American Legacy Foundation® provided seed funding to launch the North American Quitline Consortium (NAQC).
After two years of building core programs and services, NAQC incorporated as an independent 501©(3) nonprofit organization, and began independent operations on July 1, 2006. NAQC would like to thank its funders, board of directors, members and partners for their support and many contributions—this milestone would not have been possible without their generosity.

NAQC Secures Funding in 2006 to Help Fulfill Mission
In the last half of 2006, NAQC raised more than $1.1 million in new organizational funding. Funding organizations like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Cancer Institute, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, American Legacy Foundation, American Cancer Society, and ClearWay MinnesotaSM help ensure that NAQC can continue to support the quitline community of North America.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention & National Cancer Institute
In October 2006, NAQC was awarded a contract from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Cancer Institute, for program activities to improve the quality and utilization of quitline services; communicate quitline research and news with network members and other professionals; and provide a forum for networking, training and technical assistance.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
In December of 2006, NAQC received a two-year grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to strengthen the linkages of quitlines and other tobacco control policy efforts, by adding a policy component to its work to engage in both cessation-relevant policy efforts of the broader tobacco control community, and more NAQC-specific policy issues in direct support of its mission.

American Legacy Foundation
In July of 2006, NAQC was awarded a one-year grant from the American Legacy Foundation to support the development of NAQC infrastructure. The funds support meetings of the board of directors, staff support, website enhancement, and participation in national conferences and activities.

American Cancer Society
In September of 2007, NAQC was awarded a one-year grant from the American Cancer Society for operational and administrative activities, including meetings of the board of directors and advisory council.

ClearWay MinnesotaSM
In November 2006, ClearWay MinnesotaS contributed funds to help cover expenses for the board of directors’ meeting.

The following organizations involved in tobacco control, tobacco cessation, and health care services delivery have provided valuable support to NAQC's mission:

American Cancer Society (www.cancer.org)

Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (www.astho.org)

Canadian Cancer Society (www.cancer.ca)

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Office on Smoking and Health (www.cdc.gov/tobacco)

Health Canada (www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hecs-sesc/tobacco)

National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute (www.nci.nih.gov)

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (www.rwjf.org)

As an independent nonprofit organization since July 1, 2006, NAQC has established a founding board of directors that is committed to the organization’s advancement and sustainability. Members include:

David Willoughby, MA, Chair
Chief Executive Officer
ClearWay Minnesota
Minneapolis, MN, USA

Donna Warner, MBA, MA, Vice Chair
Director of Cessation Policy and Program Development
Massachusetts Tobacco Control Program
Boston, MA, USA

Carol Sutherland-Brown, Secretary
Departmental Liaison
Office of the Minister of Health
Ottawa, ON, Canada

Matthew G. Madonna, MPA, Treasurer
Principal
MGM Associates
Phoenix, AZ, USA

Linda A. Bailey, JD, MHS
President and CEO
North American Quitline Consortium
Phoenix, AZ, USA

Carolyn M. Dresler, MD, MPA
Branch Chief, Tobacco Prevention and Cessation
Arkansas Department of Health
Little Rock, AR, USA

Pat Felts
Chief Mission Officer
American Cancer Society
Atlanta, GA, USA

Amber Hardy Thornton, MPH, CHES
Executive Vice President for Program Development
American Legacy Foundation
Washington, D.C., USA

Rod Lew, MPH
Executive Director
Asian Pacific Partners for Empowerment, Advocacy and Leadership
Oakland, CA, USA

Tim McAfee, MD, MPH
Chief Medical Officer
Free & Clear
Seattle, WA, USA

Susanne A. Stoiber, MPA, MSc
Washington, D.C., USA

Penny E. Thomsen

This page is currently under construction.

For information about membership to the North American Quitline Consortium, please contact us at naqc@naquitline.org or Ph: 602.279.2719.

The Advisory Council is a leadership group that provides guidance and advice on programmatic issues to NAQC’s CEO and staff. The Council meets fours times a year.

MEMBERS
Christopher Anderson, B.A.
Program Director
California Smokers’ Helpline
University of California San Diego
La Jolla, CA, USA

Matthew Barry, M.P.A.
Vice President
Edelman
Washington DC, USA

Sharon Campbell, Ph.D.
Director, Evaluation Studies
Centre for Behavioural Research and Program Evaluation
University of Waterloo
Waterloo, ON, Canada

Donna Czukar
Director, Cancer Information and Support
Canadian Cancer Society, Ontario Division
Hamilton, ON, Canada

K. Michael Cummings, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Chairman, Department of Health Behavior
Roswell Park Cancer Institute
Buffalo, NY, USA

Lowell C. Dale, M.D.
Associate Director, Education Program
Mayo Clinic Nicotine Dependence Center
Mayo Clinic
Rochester, MN, USA

Niki Legge, B.S.W., R.S.W., B.A.
Director, Cessation Initiatives and Tobacco Control
The Newfoundland & Labrador Lung Association
Smokers' Helpline (SHL)
St. John’s, NL, Canada

Scott J. Leischow, Ph.D.
Deputy Director, Strategic Partnerships and Policy
Dept. of Family and Community Medicine
Arizona Cancer Center
Tucson, AZ, USA

Judy Martin, M.S.
Program Manager, Tobacco Free Nebraska
Nebraska Health and Human Services System
Lincoln, NE, USA

Stephen Michael, M.S.
Director
Arizona Smokers' Helpline
Tucson, AZ, USA

Deborah Ossip-Klein, Ph.D.
Chief, Division of Social and Behavioral Medicine
Director, Smoking Research Program
Department of Community and Preventive Medicine
University of Rochester
Rochester, NY, USA

Michael Renner, B.S., J.D.
Executive Director
Ohio Tobacco Prevention Foundation
Columbus, OH, USA

Connie Revell, M.A.
Deputy Director
Smoking Cessation Leadership Center
University of California San Francisco
San Francisco, CA, USA

Mary Kate Salley, B.A.
Senior Vice President Client Services
Free & Clear, Inc.
Seattle, WA, USA

Barbara Schillo, Ph.D.
Director of Research Programs
Clearway Minnesota
Minneapolis, MN, USA

Colleen Stevens, MSW
Chief, Media Campaign Unit
Tobacco Control Section
California Department of Health Services
Sacramento, CA, USA

Tracey Strader, M.S.W.
Executive Director
Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust
Oklahoma City, OK, USA

Dawn Elise Wiatrek, Ph.D.
Quitline Director
American Cancer Society
National Cancer Information Center
Austin, TX, USA

Susan Woods, MD, MPH
Medical Informantics Fellow (VA)
Department of Medical Informantics & Clinical Epidemiology
Oregon Health & Sciences University (BICC)
Portland, OR, USA

LIAISONS
Mary Anne Bright, R.N., M.N.
Associate Director, Office of Cancer Information Service
Office of Communications, National Cancer Institute
Rockville, MD, USA

Ann M. Malarcher, PhD, MSPH
Senior Scientific Advisor, Epidemiology Branch
Office on Smoking and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Atlanta, Georgia USA

2008 Clinical Practice Guideline - Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence Released New Evidence Provides Clinicians With Better Tools to Help Smokers Quit The updated clinical practice guideline, released early May by the U.S. Public Health Service, identifies new counseling and medication treatments effective for helping smokers quit. View the guideline and related materials.

		ABOUT THE CONSORTIUM QUITLINE MAP & FACTS ANNUAL MEETING COMMUNICATIONS PROMOTIONS POLICY OPERATIONS & SERVICES RESEARCH & EVALUATION



The North American Quitline Consortium (NAQC) seeks to unite health departments, quitline service providers, researchers and national organizations in the United States and Canada to enable these quitline professionals to learn from each other and to improve quitline services.