DoD launches personalized quit tobacco training

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Falls Church, Va. --  The U.S. Department of Defense has announced the launch of Train2Quit, an innovative Web-based tobacco cessation training specifically designed for military personnel and families.

Train2Quit is a step-by-step process with proven methods and interactive activities and tools to help tobacco users quit for good. The free customizable training, accessible anytime to service members online, is the newest, most comprehensive addition to the DoD campaign, Quit Tobacco--Make Everyone Proud, at http://www.ucanquit2.org.

"[Airmen], Soldiers, Sailors and Marines are used to training. Train2Quit doesn't take 8 weeks or even 8 hours. And although quitting tobacco is tough, we know members of the Armed Forces are even tougher. They can get through this unique and easy-to use online training to get quit--and stay quit." said Capt. David Arday, M.D., a U.S. Public Health Service officer and chairman of the DoD Alcohol and Tobacco Advisory Committee.

Train2Quit accommodates users based on where they are in the process of quitting tobacco, whether thinking about quitting or in the midst of a quit attempt. A self-assessment tool during enrollment determines where users fall on the spectrum and starts them in the corresponding module. The training then offers customized tools and individual support based on their specific situation and stage in the quit process.

Tobacco users who get support are more likely to succeed in their quit attempt. Those who use a tailored interactive online program can double their chance of becoming tobacco free, especially when used in conjunction with counseling and medications. Train2Quit is a customized interactive support system that provides service men and women with access to personalized Web-based resources 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. Anonymous live chatting with expert quit coaches is available from 8:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. EST right now, and will be available 24/7.

The training consists of a self-paced series of four modules based on James Prochaska and Carlo DiCelemente's Stages of Change model of behavior change. The curriculum, developed in consultation with certified tobacco cessation specialists, incorporates U.S. Public Health Service tobacco cessation guidelines and best practices. Users can stop at any point in the process and then re-start where they left off, tracking their progress through the training. After successfully going through all four modules, they receive a certificate of completion.

"I urge military service members who use tobacco to enroll in this new training," said Dr. Arday. "Receiving support whenever it's convenient in their busy and changing schedules gives them a real advantage to succeed in becoming tobacco-free, particularly used as an adjunct to counseling and medications available on their installations."

Train2Quit, along with a demo of the training, is available at http://www.ucanquit2.org, where visitors can find additional QTMEP tools and resources for tobacco cessation.

(Courtesy of ucanquit2.org)