Press Release

December 26, 2006
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Contact: Jerry Carey
Phone: (856) 566-6171
careyge@umdnj.edu

UMDNJ-School of Public Health Opens Tobacco Dependence Clinic in Newark

NEWARK - Beginning January 2, people in the Newark area who are trying to quit smoking will be able to quadruple their chances of successfully kicking the tobacco habit. On that day, the Tobacco Dependence Clinic at the UMDNJ-School of Public Health will open the doors of its Newark clinic, located on the 7th floor of the Stanley S. Bergen Building, 65 Bergen St., in Newark.

“This new service for smokers will build upon the success of our UMDNJ-School of Public Health Tobacco Dependence Clinic at New Brunswick, which has now treated almost 3,000 smokers and is one of the leading tobacco treatment centers in the country,” said Dr. Jonathan Foulds, director of the Tobacco Dependence Program at SPH.

Many of the services at the UMDNJ-School of Public Health Tobacco Dependence Clinic at Newark, including an initial personal consultation, will be free or at minimal cost to those who are trying to quit. Tobacco treatment specialists at the clinic will help clients design a personal plan to quit smoking.

“During the initial assessment, we strongly encourage clients to attend a six-week group therapy program,” said Dr. Rick Boyd, associate dean at the Newark campus of the UMDNJ-School of Public Health. “The group therapy sessions are free and we can also recommend or prescribe therapies such as nicotine replacement products and non-nicotine medications that are often available at cost or through the individual’s insurance program. Research has shown that smokers who receive this kind of help are more than four times as likely to succeed in stopping their tobacco use.”

More information about the UMDNJ-School of Public Health Tobacco Dependence Clinic at Newark is available by calling the clinic at (973) 972-7431 or by sending an e-mail to TobaccoClinicNewark@umdnj.edu.

UMDNJ is the nation's largest free-standing public health sciences university with more than 5,500 students attending the state's three medical schools, its only dental school, a graduate school of biomedical sciences, a school of health related professions, a school of nursing and its only school of public health, on five campuses. Last year, there were more than two million patient visits to UMDNJ facilities and faculty at campuses in Newark, New Brunswick/Piscataway, Scotch Plains, Camden and Stratford. UMDNJ operates University Hospital, a Level I Trauma Center in Newark, and University Behavioral HealthCare, a mental health and addiction services network.