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This year’s conference explores ambivalence toward addressing tobacco, youth vaping, TUD Best Practices and PA STFRI training resources.

Behavioral health staff and recovery peers are highly dedicated with an unwavering commitment to their mission of providing quality care. Yet, efforts to introduce tobacco treatment interventions in behavioral health services have had limited success. Tobacco use is the norm in the recovering community. Many falsely view smoking as a helpful way to cope with stress, anxiety, or emotional pain. “Leave well enough alone” is the result of misinformation, social stigma and ignores the fact that tobacco use is the leading cause of disease and early death among people in recovery. There is strong evidence that stopping smoking maximizes treatment outcomes and supports long-term recovery.

The Pennsylvania Statewide Tobacco Free Recovery Initiative’s 6th Annual Tobacco Recovery is Recovery conference includes a keynote presentation What About Tobacco? Addressing Ambivalence About Smoking in Recovery by William R. Miller, Ph.D., Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of New Mexico and co-founder of Motivational Interviewing. Recognized as an evidence-based intervention for nicotine addiction, motivational interviewing steers clear of directive tactics likely to invite resistance and instead evokes the person’s own motivations for a healthy and happy life. When MI works well, people talk themselves into change.