Helping Smokers Quit
Hungarian Academy of Teaching Family Physicians (HATFP) Budapest, one of Eastern Europe’s most vibrant and beautiful cities, conjures up images of smoke-filled cafe ´ s, lively music and feisty political discourse. Health advocates are working to retain the city’s romantic image, without the harmful tobacco smoke. Under this grant, the Hungarian Academy of Teaching Family Physicians undertakes an ambitious program to provide Hungarian residents with the resources needed to kick the tobacco habit. Among other things, the program provides training to Hungarian physicians on the dangers of tobacco smoke. Two team leaders have been trained in smoking cessation and tobacco treatment. In addition, program officials plan to train at least 30 tobaccocessation specialists as well as 500 nurses and doctors to provide citizens with cessation services. In all, the effort aims at providing group or individual counseling to at least 1,000 smokers in Budapest. The program also plans to establish telephone counseling to another 10,000 patients through quitlines and . other services. Finally, the program plans to establish a Center for Smoking Cessation in Budapest to act as a clearinghouse for information about the dangers of tobacco smoke. This effort is expected to reduce the number of smokers in Hungary, which has remained stable for the past 10 years.
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Country: Hungary Team: Hungarian Academy of Teaching Family Physicians Focus: Tobacco: Helping Smokers Quit Problem: In Hungary, there are very few communitybased tobacco-control or smoking-cessation programs. Solution: Program aims to develop and implementing a smoking-cessation program to be widely available throughout Hungary.