The Ottawa Model for Smoking Cessation: 10 years of smoking cessation in the Champlain region!

OTTAWA, October 17, 2016 – The Ottawa Model for Smoking Cessation (OMSC), created and powered by the University of Ottawa Heart Institute (UOHI), is celebrating ten years of partnership with local hospitals in the Champlain LHIN. Since the implementation of the partnership with OMSC in Eastern Ontario, an impressive 100,000 smokers have been reached through personalized and best practice tobacco dependence treatment, resulting in increased quit attempts and long-term cessation. An estimated 25,000 smokers are smoke-free as a result of the support they received.

In 2002, smoking cessation experts at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute developed the Ottawa Model for Smoking Cessation, an institutional program that, as part of routine care, systematically identifies, provides treatment to and offers follow-up to patients who smoke. In 2006, UOHI began to assist other inpatient, outpatient and primary care settings in implementing the OMSC. Implementation of the OMSC led to an absolute 11% increase in long-term quit rates among hospitalized patients (from 18% to 29% at six months).

“The success behind the Ottawa Model for Smoking Cessation is truly found in the determined teams that are providing personalized support to smokers who are trying to quit,” said Dr. Andrew Pipe, co-developer of the OMSC and Division Head for Prevention and Rehabilitation at the Heart Institute. “With over 350 sites in Canada, and by continuing to work closely together, we hope to keep supporting more smokers in the years to come. Also, as all hospital grounds in Ontario will be required to be smoke-free by January 2018, helping patients deal with nicotine withdrawal when they are admitted and stay smoke-free when they leave will remain an important priority for hospitals in our region.”

The University of Ottawa Heart Institute is Canada’s largest and foremost heart health centre dedicated to understanding, treating and preventing heart disease. UOHI delivers high-tech care with a personal touch, shapes the way cardiovascular medicine is practiced and revolutionizes cardiac treatment and understanding. It builds knowledge through research and translates discoveries into advanced care. UOHI serves the local, national and international community, and is pioneering a new era in heart health.
MEDIA
Judith Lachance
Promotion and Communication Officer
University of Ottawa Heart Institute
613-798-5555 (17793)
613-806-0188 (cell)
jlachance@ottawaheart.ca