Policy study Jellinek Tobacco-Free

Background

In 2018, Jellinek introduced a policy to further support smoking cessation and treat tobacco addiction: Jellinek Smoke-Free. In 2019 Jellinek was awarded the golden status by the Global Network for Tobacco Free Healthcare services. This policy focuses on more actively (co-)treating the tobacco use disorder and making treatment departments and buildings tobacco-free, which has great relevance since more than 75% of clients at Jellinek who enter treatment for another substance, also smoke tobacco. This makes Jellinek the first addiction care institution in the Netherlands to realize a completely tobacco-free work and treatment culture (Tobacco-Free Care Award, Global Network for Tobacco Free Healthcare services – NIP (psynip.nl).

This project investigates the impact of policy on smoking behavior (stopping or cutting down) in the tobacco-smoking client population at Jellinek. To this end, the effects of the main substance use disorder treatment on comorbid tobacco-smoking were compared between clients who entered treatment before or after the introduction of the Jellinek Tobacco-free policy.

Research aims

At the moment it is not yet clear what the relationship of smoking problems is with, for example, experienced stress, living environment, socio-economic status, or urbanization. This relationship is being investigated in a research project subsidized by and in collaboration with the Center for Urban Mental Health. Here we examine whether these factors (stress and urbanization) are associated with smoking cessation success during treatment. In a final phase of this project, we want to use the results of this project to formulate recommendations and further develop the Jellinek Smoke-free policy together with practitioners and clients (e.g. via focus groups). For instance, this may include adapting the Jellinek Tobacco-Free policy by adapting treatment or information material for specific target groups or types of care.

First results

Preliminary results show that subgroups of clients benefit from the Jellinek Tobacco-Free policy: clients who quit smoking as a result of day hospital treatment and clients who smoked less than 20 cigarettes a day, quit more often. However, clients in outpatient or social addiction care and smokers who smoked more than 20 cigarettes per day showed no improvement after the introduction of the policy.