Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention Earns Stop-Smoking Grant

The University of Wisconsin Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention (UW-CTRI) was recently awarded a highly competitive $9 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to discover the best ways to help people successfully stop smoking.

UW-CTRI is a nationally recognized research center, housed within the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.

"We know most smokers want to quit, but so many struggle with this addiction," says Michael Fiore, MD, UW-CTRI director. "This study is designed to meet smokers where they are in terms of their willingness to try quitting. The goal is to create the greatest likelihood for smokers to successfully overcome tobacco addiction."

Beginning in spring 2010, researchers will recruit 2,300 smokers who will participate in the study for a full year. Participants will be recruited from clinics across south-central and southeastern Wisconsin that use electronic medical records. The study will provide both quit-coaching and nicotine medications.

UW-CTRI has received two previous large, long-term federal grants to study smoking treatments.

"I am pleased UW-CTRI can continue to build on its excellent record of accomplishments," says Robert N. Golden, MD, dean of the School of Medicine and Public Health. "It is a testament to the exemplary reputation the center has accumulated in its 18-year history. The grant will improve public health in Wisconsin, nationally and across the globe since tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death, regardless of geographic and socio-economic boundaries."