Learning About Healthy Living meetings are held at Genesis on Tuesdays from 4 to 5 p.m.

• This is a 26-week long informational course.  Activities include hourly weekly meetings at Genesis that focus on health promotion, nutrition, exercise, reducing stress, and ways you or others can quit or cut down on smoking.
  

Almost 80% of people diagnosed with Mental Illness (MI) smoke, consuming nearly half of all tobacco sold in the US. Evidence suggests that smoking prevalence among people with MI is twice that of the general population. Compared with the general population, individuals with MI are at greater risk of co-morbid health problems and premature death.

However, evidence suggests that people diagnosed with mental illness can be successful in quitting. No matter how old you are or how long you've smoked, quitting can help you live longer and be healthier. People who stop smoking before age 50 cut their risk of dying in the next 15 years in half compared with those who keep smoking. Quitting tobacco use offers some benefits that you'll notice right away and some that will develop over time. Did you know your heart rate and blood pressure drops 20 minutes after quitting, and the excess risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker's 1 year after quitting. These rewards can improve your day-to-day life a great deal.

We are using Organizational Change or ATTOC to help Genesis Club get better at addressing tobacco use. Activities within ATTOC include training existing staff and members to provide tobacco cessation services at the clubhouse. UMass partners provide technical assistance on organizational change and Tobacco Dependence Specialist Training; co-lead focus groups, assist with toolkit development, project dissemination, and replication.

We have adapted Health Promotion activities to the Clubhouse with assistance from the Program for Clubhouse Research at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and a grant by the American Legacy Foundation. Activities include 1) Addressing Tobacco Through Organizational Change (ATTOC), 2) Learning About Healthy Living (LAHL), and 3) Consumers Helping Others Improve Their Condition by Ending Smoking (CHOICES). We created new materials based on these interventions (e.g. toolkit), and we are disseminating findings to help individuals with SMI quit tobacco use.

Examples of Healthy Living materials include How can I better manage stress, Why is Smoking Dangerous, How much does tobacco use or smoking cost, and How much exercise does one need.

Examples of our review material contains:

Why is Smoking Dangerous:

• For every 5 deaths per year in this country, at least 1 is due to smoking.
  

• Smoking causes 9 out of 10 (90%) cases of lung cancer.
  

• Smoking causes nearly all cases of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD, chronic asthma/bronchitis or emphysema)
  

• Smokers are twice as likely to die from stroke or heart attack, compared to non-smokers.
  

• Smokers miss more days of work than non-smokers.
  

• Smoking is also a risk factor for cancer of the mouth, throat, stomach, pancreas, kidney, bladder, cervix, liver, esophagus, uterus, colon, and leukemia.
  

Cigarette smoke also contains:

Acetone, amonia, arsenic, benzene, butane, cadmium, carbon monoxide, DDT, formaldehyde, hydrogen cyanide, methanol, phenol, napthalene, toluene, polonium-210, and others. 

Resources available to people that want support with smoking cessation:

The American Legacy Foundation® is dedicated to building a world where people reject tobacco and anyone can quit.

The Foundation develops programs that address the health effects of tobacco use. They want to help and give everyone access to tobacco prevention and cessation services.

Become An EX is about re-learning life without cigarettes. An interactive web site can help you learn how to do everything you currently do with a cigarette, but without one. The free EX plan is based on personal experiences from ex-smokers, as well as the latest scientific research from the experts at Mayo Clinic. Whether this is your first try or your 10th, this plan can help you quit smoking.

Nicotine Anonymous (Nic-A) Meetings: A 12 Step Program offering support to those who want to quit cigarettes and quit smoking and stop other forms of tobacco and nicotine addiction.

St. Mary's Health Center, 39 Queen Street in Worcester on Mondays at 7pm

“Breath of Fresh Air”, Community Health Link (CHL), 68 Jacques Ave., Worcester on Thursdays at 7pm

The Massachusetts Tobacco Control Program (Make Smoking History) is dedicated to ending the suffering caused by tobacco use. We continue to work toward an environment where all people in Massachusetts can live tobacco-free. An interactive website that helps you make a quit plan and connects you to expert advice.

You can use the Massachusetts Smokers’ Helpline to talk privately with a counselor about quitting smoking. The Helpline is open on Monday-Thursday from 9:00 am to 7:00 pm and on Friday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. 

For English and other languages, call 1-800-Try-To-STOP (1-800-879-8678).

For Spanish, call 1-800-8-DÉJALO (1-800-833-5256).

For people with hearing impairments, the TTY line is 1-800-TDD-1477 (1-800-833-1477).

Facts and statistics about tobacco use in Massachusetts— Massachusetts Tobacco Control Program

Massachusetts Health Promotion Clearinghouse: Free materials about quitting tobacco, the harm of tobacco, secondhand smoke, and other related issues

Information about tobacco and health - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Smoking Cessation

Our Community

Welcome

Clubhouse Units

Support Genesis

Designed by Genesis Club staff and members. © 2009 Genesis Club, Inc.

Genesis Club, Inc.

274 Lincoln Street

Worcester, MA 01605

Tel. (508) 831-0100

FAX (508) 753-1286

Resources

Genesis Club is featured by the Legacy Foundation for our smoking cessation program.  We were one of a handful of agencies chosen for publication in "A Hidden Epidemic: Tobacco Use and Mental Illness."  Please click here to read the report.