On August 13^th and 14^th, 151 members of the quitline community and our partners met in Kansas City, Missouri for the 2012 NAQC Conference. Participants included U.S. and Canadian quitline researchers and evaluators, funders, service providers and national partners. Conference sponsors and supporters included: ClearWay Minnesota, Canadian Cancer Society, American Cancer Society, American Legacy Foundation, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, Pfizer, and National Cancer Institute.

The 2012 theme, QUITLINE INNOVATION AND SUSTAINABILITY: Exploring Strategies and Seizing Opportunities in Challenging Times, builds on the Consortium’s efforts to contribute to the understanding and measurement of quitline quality and the development of emerging and innovative practices. The conference agenda focused solely on addressing current challenges facing quitlines and tobacco cessation more broadly, identifying strategies to address operational and implementation roadblocks and the translation of recent research and evaluation findings into improved strategies, practices and services.

Through participation in 12 breakout sessions in 4 tracks, two luncheon plenaries, opening and closing plenary sessions, NAQC’s Vision Cafe and ample opportunities for sharing with and learning from colleagues, attendees:

• engaged in discussions with colleagues and experts from the quitline community, as well as guests from broader tobacco control and chronic disease areas, with a focus on factors that impact on the effectiveness and reach of quitlines;
• developed concrete strategies for addressing changes in needs, funding, the political landscape and technologies that may transform quitline practice, protocols and our common research agenda;
• strengthened the quitline community’s knowledge and application of best and promising practices;
• participated in the generation of new research questions informed by dialogue about current experience from the quitline practice community, findings from the research community and issues important to partners in tobacco control, chronic diseases and health systems; and
• celebrated 20 years of quitlines in North America and focus on answering important questions about the future of our work.