American Dental Hygienists’ Association Continues
Distribution of “Quit Now” Cards

Chicago–July 18, 2006– The American Dental Hygienists’ Association (ADHA) is pleased to announce its sustained efforts in the fight against tobacco use by continuing its distribution of the “Quit Now” cards which began circulation last year. Sponsored by Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, the “Quit Now” cards provide tobacco users interested in quitting, access to the first national toll free quitline number.

1-800-QUIT NOW (1-800-784-8669) is a single access point to the National Network of Tobacco Cessation quitlines. As the first national quitline number, callers are automatically routed to a state-run quitline. If there is no state-run quitline, callers are routed to the National Cancer Institute quitline.

Distribution of the “Quit Now” cards will be coordinated through ADHA’s national Smoking Cessation Initiative (SCI) and Ask. Advise. Refer. (AAR) program, designed to promote cessation intervention by dental hygienists. The SCI is made possible through a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Smoking Cessation Leadership Center at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). The UCSF center designed the card for distribution to tobacco users by health professionals and to promote the new national quitline. The cards are the size and feel of a plastic credit card.

The objective of ADHA’s SCI is to increase the number of dental hygienists who perform tobacco cessation interventions with their patients. In accordance with the AAR approach, dental hygienists refer their patients who use tobacco products to quitlines, as well as to Web-based and local cessation programs.

“By continuing the distribution of the ‘Quit Now’ cards, ADHA has established their dedication to the fight against tobacco use,” says Marge L. Green, CDA, RDH, MS, ADHA president. “Dental hygienists have a unique opportunity to reduce the amount of tobacco consumption, aiding in the reduction of tobacco-related illness, economic burden, and deaths. Quitlines have proven to be a successful and invaluable tool in quitting tobacco use, and ADHA is dedicated to providing every patient this tool.”

A national network of state SCI liaisons will coordinate distribution of the “Quit Now” cards in their state, as well as work with their state quitline to track referrals made by dental hygienists to measure the outcomes of card distribution. Each liaison will receive 5,000 cards initially.

For more information, visit www.askadviserefer.org. Dental hygienists or consumers interested in receiving additional information should contact Carol Southard, ADHA SCI project manager, at 312-440-8920 or at carols@adha.net.

The Wrigley Company is a leading confectioner and the world’s largest manufacturer of chewing gum. The Wrigley Oral Health Care Program works hand-in-hand with dental professionals by investing in support programs for the dental team and the wider community. Wrigley also promotes good oral health through education and providing chewing gum products with dental and oral health benefits. For more information about the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company’s Oral Healthcare Program, visit http://www.wrigleydentalcare.com.

The strengthening of partnerships and collaboration between dentistry, dental science and commercial companies helps create supportive environments for promoting oral care today, and to help achieve better oral health in the future.

ADHA is the largest national organization representing the professional interests of the more than 120,000 dental hygienists across the country. Dental hygienists are preventive oral health professionals, licensed in dental hygiene, who provide educational, clinical and therapeutic services that support total health through the promotion of optimal oral health. For more information about ADHA, dental hygiene or the link between oral health and general health, visit http://www.adha.org.

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Editor’s Note: Marge L. Green, CDA, RDH, MS, ADHA president, is available for interviews on smoking and tobacco cessation, as well as a wealth of oral health topics. Please contact Nick Olsen at 312-440-8927 or media@adha.net to schedule an interview. Check ADHA’s Press Room for press releases, fact sheets and backgrounders: http://www.adha.org/media/. A rendering of the “Quit Now” cards can be downloaded from the Press Room.