For some time, the Collaborative has been gathering practical evidence on how state tobacco control programs can support widespread, sustainable changes in all provider practices, hospitals, and health centers.

With support from CDC, the Collaborative developed Improving Health Care Systems to Reduce Tobacco Use: Lessons Learned from States, and its companion document, Improving Health Care Systems to Reduce Tobacco Use: Promising Practices Case Studies.

Lessons Learned from States briefly describes state initiatives to improve health care systems for treating tobacco use. The report synthesizes strategies used, barriers experienced, and lessons learned across 23 projects funded by 12 states. Promising Practices Case Studies, the companion document, provides in-depth case studies of the 23 projects described in the Lessons Learned summary report.
In both reports, the projects are grouped into four main categories:  

• Influencing insurers, purchasers, and employers to provide comprehensive cessation benefits.
• Educating and motivating clinicians to treat tobacco use as a chronic disease.
• Helping health care organizations and practices improve tobacco cessation interventions
• Promoting systems changes in mental health and substance abuse services institutions and departments.

Members of the Multi-State Collaborative: Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, New York City, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin. Partner organizations: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Office on Smoking and Health; National Tobacco Cessation Collaborative; North American Quitline Consortium; Partners for Prevention/ACTTION; American Lung Association