Kent County Health Department Tobacco Use Prevention & Cessation Program

Community

Our Kent County Tobacco and Cancer Community Health Coalition is forty members strong and meet eight times per year and includes a cross-section of the community. The Coalition makes recommendations for programming, assists with dispersing information to the community as well as assists with community education.
Mini grants are offered to community- based groups in order to educate the community about the impact of environmental tobacco smoke and encourage participation in smoking cessation and prevention programs. In Fiscal year 2007, $11,000 in mini-grants were awarded to eleven community based organizations.
Our county has a grassroots coalition with members from twelve African American Churches, known as the CATS Team (Citizens Against Tobacco Smoke) who carry out Health Fairs and educational programs in the community in an effort to provide outreach to our minority groups and educate on the effects of tobacco use, secondhand smoke, etc...
The Health Department participates in various community outreach efforts including providing educational materials to health care providers' offices, health department sites, community sites, and patient waiting areas; attending health fairs and providing worksite wellness programs.

Funds are given to the Kent County Public School system to purchase tobacco education curriculum. LifeSkills curriculum is currently being taught by Health Teachers and is taught in 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 8th, and 9th grades. Project TNT (Towards No Tobacco) curriculum taught in 6th grade.
Funds are given to the Kent County Public School system for anti-tobacco presenters who give presentations at all three of our Middle Schools and our High School.
Cessation classes are taught during lunch shifts at our county High School. The curriculum, TAP: Teen Awareness Program, is utilized. Students receive free lunch and meet for five week sessions during lunch shifts to learn how to quit tobacco.

The County Alcohol Inspector also serves as the Tobacco Enforcement Officer doing compliance checks. Kent County has a local ordinance that all tobacco products have to remain behind the counter, so the Tobacco Enforcement Officer ensures compliance with this county ordinance.
The Tobacco Enforcement Officer also does a thirty minute education on tobacco laws and compliance education with all vendors in the county.
The Tobacco Enforcement Officer also does "stings" to ensure that no vendors are selling tobacco products to youth.

The Kent County Cessation program is free to county residents who are 18 and older who are interested in quitting tobacco. There is a weekly Enrollment class every Thursday from 5p.m. to 6p.m. which each enrollee must attend once. Then counseling appointments are set with clients every two weeks. Our program has morning, afternoon, and evening appointments available on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Clients can receive 12 weeks free of Chantix or Bupropion with their doctor's prescription, or 8 weeks free of Nicotine patches, gum or lozenges.
Each client receives one on one cessation counseling while enrolled in our cessation program and receives follow up calls periodically while enrolled.
Each client in educated on the health effects of tobacco, nicotine addiction, methods to quit, weight management, stress management, relapse prevention and receives an individualized treatment plan.
Our clients, once graduated from our cessation program, receives follow up calls every three months.