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Tackling Tobacco program

Tackling Tobacco is an organisational change-based program that aims to embed smoking cessation support within organisations that serve priority populations. The Tackling Tobacco program works alongside community services who serve priority populations to identify tailored solutions for addressing smoking at their service and integrate it into the work they are already doing.

If you are interested in participating in the program, we encourage you to register or contact us for more information.

How the program works

As part of the Tackling Tobacco program, we will work alongside your organisation for 12 months to achieve organisation-wide change by working through six core elements. This approach promotes a shared responsibility of care and a positive culture to address smoking, and it ensures support to quit smoking becomes part of the usual care provided by your organisation.

Six elements to Tackling Tobacco

Aim
To ensure addressing smoking is a top priority within your organisation and guide the implementation of changes across the organisation to reach pre-agreed goals.
Why
The support and commitment of all levels of the organisation, from executives, managers, team leaders, frontline staff, family members, carers and people who access the organisation’s services, is vital to achieve sustainable change.

Tasks

  1. Meet with senior staff
  2. Appoint at least two Tackling Tobacco change champions
  3. Establish a project steering group
  4. Conduct an audit and plan the project
  5. Communicate and build a case for change

Who is involved

  • Executives
  • Senior managers
  • Team leaders
  • Operational staff including finance, workplace health, and safety and data management
  • Frontline staff
  • People who access services from your organisation
  • Family members and carers

Aim
To provide the ground rules on smoking, smoke-free areas and how smoking cessation is supported at multiple levels in your organisation.
Why
Smoking policies form the foundation of your plan to address smoking. Policies on smoking need to be well planned, clearly communicated and widely known by the whole organisation.

Tasks

  1. Create or review the policy
  2. Plan implementation of the policy
  3. Review the policy regularly

Who is involved

  • Executives
  • Managers
  • Key operational, frontline and administrative staff
  • People who access services from your organisation

Aim
To link an organisation’s comprehensive smoking policies to action by changing systems and protocols to address smoking.
Why
Supportive systems are the protocols and processes required to put an organisation’s smoking policy into practice. The smoking policy can be used as a guide to identify the protocols and processes that are needed to put those policies into practice.
Tasks

  1. Identify protocols and systems
  2. Consult with all involved
  3. Develop and test new systems
  4. Communicate changes

Who is involved

  • Staff
  • People who access services from your organisation
  • Visitors
  • Volunteers

Aim
To ensure staff have the knowledge, skills and confidence to address smoking and deliver brief interventions as part of routine care.
Why
Training for staff is an essential part of increasing your organisation’s capacity to address smoking. Evidence-based training builds the skills and confidence of staff to provide impactful smoking cessation support to clients.

At the end of the training, your staff will:

  • Have a thorough understanding of smoking behaviours, including nicotine dependence and triggers.
  • Know how to talk to clients about using Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) effectively.
  • Be able to conduct smoking cessation brief advice.

Tasks

  1. Tackling Tobacco eLearning
  2. Tackling Tobacco facilitated training session (delivered online or in person)

Who is involved

  • All staff who have contact with people who access services from your organisation
  • Carers
  • Volunteers

Aim
To allow for systematic collection of tobacco related data across an organisation and to aid in the evaluation of organisational changes. Enhancing the capacity of the organisation and staff to provide smoking cessation support.
Why
Providing routine support for clients to address smoking is one of the most important elements of the Tackling Tobacco program. The best way to ensure that your organisation is continuing to provide the best care is to record smoking data and routinely report and monitor smoking data.

Tasks

  1. Assessing and recording smoking status
  2. Setting targets and goals
  3. Routine assessment and monitoring
  4. Systematically recording data
  5. Regular audits of data collection and monitoring processes

Who is involved

  • Senior staff
  • Frontline staff
  • IT and Data teams

Aim
To provide active and ongoing support to help people who access your organisation’s services to quit smoking.
Why
A main goal of Tackling Tobacco is to ensure people accessing your organisation’s services and staff are provided with proactive, evidence-based and consistent support to quit smoking.

Tasks

  1. Providing brief advice
  2. Providing encouragement and support
  3. Facilitating access to NRT or other stop smoking medications
  4. Referral to external services (e.g. Quitline)

Who is involved

  • Staff
  • People who access services from your organisation
  • Family members and carers
  • Volunteers

Why your organisation?

There are many reasons to tackle tobacco within your organisation and help people quit smoking. Addressing smoking not only brings tangible benefits to people who access the services your organisation provides but also extends to your staff.

In Western Australia, community services play a pivotal role in addressing tobacco use and support on how to quit smoking because:

  • You have established connections with priority populations in Western Australia.
  • Your unique experiences and skill enables you to promote positive behavioural change among people who access your services.
  • Are guided by a strong commitment to the values of social justice, fairness, and equity.
  • Have a commitment to improving the wellbeing and opportunities of people accessing your services.

Remember, as you embark on this program, we’re with you every step of the way.

Why priority populations?

Smoking rates in Western Australia have declined significantly over the years however tobacco use remains disproportionately higher among people from priority population groups. Priority populations with high smoking rates include:

  • People with a lived experience of mental illness
  • People receiving support for alcohol and other drug use
  • People who identify as LGBTQI+
  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
  • People experiencing homelessness
  • People living in regional, rural and remote areas
  • People living in low socioeconomic areas
  • People living with a disability
  • People from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) backgrounds
  • People engaged with the justice system.

Register your interest in Tackling Tobacco

To register your organisation’s interest in the Tackling Tobacco program, please complete the form below.

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The “Tackling Tobacco” program name and trademarks are owned by Cancer Council NSW and are used by Cancer Council WA, under licence from Cancer Council NSW.

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