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The Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education recently hosted two Fulbright Scholars: Dr. Prakash Kodali of the Central University of Kerala in India and Dr. Kate Frazer of University College Dublin School of Nursing, Midwifery & Health Systems in Ireland.
Their research explored tobacco cessation and tobacco-related disparities in different global and community contexts. Dr. Kodali focused on tobacco cessation among people experiencing socioeconomic vulnerabilities, including how cessation services are delivered and accessed in the United States and India. Dr. Frazer examined tobacco use and exposure among people experiencing homelessness, as well as opportunities to increase nurses’ engagement in supporting smoking cessation.
Their time at UCSF extended beyond their individual research projects. Dr. Kodali and Dr. Frazer met with the Smoking Cessation Leadership Center to learn about systems-level approaches to tobacco cessation, policy, and capacity building. They also attended tobacco cessation classes offered by the Fontana Tobacco Treatment Center to better understand the structure of group cessation treatment and consider how similar models could be adapted in their own countries.
The exchange benefited UCSF as well. All three centers had the opportunity to learn from the scholars’ global perspectives, deepening conversations about tobacco cessation, health equity, and access to care across different settings.
Education Across Research, Training, and Care
The Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education emphasizes research training and mentorship through its fellowship program, visiting scholar opportunities, and multidisciplinary research. The Center is training the next generation of tobacco research leaders to conduct high-quality science to benefit our communities and inform effective policy interventions. The Fulbright Scholars’ work reflects this broader training mission, connecting rigorous research with real-world questions about how cessation support can better reach people and communities in the United States and worldwide facing the greatest barriers to care.
Through the California Center for Tobacco Cessation, funded by the California Department of Public Health, the Smoking Cessation Leadership Center supports provider education and systems change across California. Since 2023, the Smoking Cessation Leadership Center trained more than 3,000 providers, hosted regional trainings in six California counties, and reached more than 1,800 participants through 25 live webinars. Faculty from the Fontana Tobacco Treatment Center have helped lead trainings. More than 150 participants from 33 California counties have also completed intensive Tobacco Treatment Specialist Training, which is also available to our own tobacco research fellows.
These efforts help providers address tobacco use, emerging tobacco products, and tobacco-related disparities in their own communities. By strengthening provider knowledge and confidence, the Smoking Cessation Leadership Center supports broader organizational and systems-level change.
The Fontana Tobacco Treatment Center extends this educational work into clinical practice. In addition to offering tobacco treatment classes and ongoing support groups for patients, the center welcomes students, clinicians, fellows, and visiting scholars to observe patient-centered cessation care and strengthen their tobacco treatment skills.
Over the past year, the Fontana Tobacco Treatment Center offered nine four-week class series to 66 participants, with 57 participants completing the program. At the one-week follow-up, 60% of participants self-reported being tobacco-free. The Fontana Center also continues to support participants after the classes through its weekly Freedom from Smoking, Vaping, and Chewing Support Group, which meets on Zoom.
Looking Ahead
Across research training, provider education, clinical care, and community outreach, UCSF’s tobacco programs are helping build the knowledge and capacity needed to support tobacco cessation and reduce tobacco-related disparities. By connecting scholarship, systems change, and patient-centered treatment, our three tobacco programs embody a comprehensive approach that integrates tobacco control policy, systems of care and tobacco cessation education. As the tobacco and nicotine product landscape continues to evolve, and as tobacco and cannabis co-use increases, we are excited to lead efforts to address new and emerging issues in cessation, which are critical to saving lives.
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