Center for Tobacco Treatment Research and Training (CTTRT) Blog

Members from UMass Chan Medical School’s Center for Tobacco Treatment Research and Training attended Kicks Butts Day on April 3, 2019 at Massachusetts State House. Youth in Massachusetts united against tobacco use and joined other young people nationwide to mark Kick Butts Day. Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids sponsored the event.  Read more>>

The Center for Tobacco Treatment Research and Training (CTTRT) works with college interns who are interested in learning more about tobacco treatment, research and training. Emma Formosi from Simmons College is one such intern. Emma worked with us over the summer of 2017.  This semester, she worked on a project and created a 'Seasonal Quit Tobacco Calendar’ based on what she learned as an intern at the Center. The calendar is designed to give a tobacco user a cue each month that can help them towards their goal of quitting tobacco. The calendar is interactive so a client or patient can personalize it by; (1) Writing down quitting goals like the quit date. (2) Writing notes and their thoughts on quitting tobacco. (3) Adding their own photos that will also serve as a reminder of why they want to quit tobacco.                                                                      
To view, print or use the calendar click here >>

It might sound strange, but that’s the question that I asked when I did my first smoking cessation study almost a decade ago to test if mindfulness training could help  people quit. Spoiler alert: we found  that it was five times better than a  well-established, standardized in-person program. Read more >>

Most adolescent smokers want to quit and try to quit smoking.  However, very few get help, success is rare, and interventions that do exist require lots of in-person time.  So what might be attractive to teen smokers who want to quit?  What about an app that teaches them mindfulness? Read more >>