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Background and context: Tobacco use is a devastating problem all over the world and in the Middle East. In Egypt 20% of the adult populations are using any type of tobacco and the problem is increasing among youth especially waterpipe. Tobacco industry is targeting the youth through many ways and using indirect ways in drama and points of sale. Raising the awareness of the public about smoking hazards and benefits of quitting is one important strategy to control the epidemic. Providing support and help material is very important. Behavioral support and promoting change is very important using coaching strategies and using new tools is very helpful to reach youth. Aim: Motivating current smokers to quit through the effect of role model using new tools for behavioral support. Strategy/Tactics: Providing the message and support through new tools as WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook where smokers who is able to quit provide information about their smoking experience and how they overcome it. Program/Policy process : Tobacco treatment specialist worked in collaboration with few young medical students to develop a Facebook page on the World No Tobacco Day 2016 and developed different posts about smoking problem and inviting viewers to add their inputs. During the early days of the campaign the team used the Facebook ads tool to promote for the page and this was sponsored by few supporters. The team who is in charge of managing the Facebook page then thought about new ideas to increase the reach and impact of the page where inviting smokers who was able to quit or take a selfie with a piece of paper writing how many days they were able to abide from smoking. The page during few months made a trend on social media. Outcomes: The reach of the page was 3 million and the reactions were 500 thousand engagement with 52 thousand members. About three thousand smokers were able to quit with following the stories sent on the page. What was learned: Using social media tools is very good way to reach out and mobilize the public to change the behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Smoking following a diagnosis of cancer is a powerful clinical risk indicator, with known poorer health outcomes and associated health care costs. In Australia, smoking rates are higher in rural and regional areas. There are established and effective interventions to promote smoking cessation after a diagnosis of cancer yet these are not in routine practice. Aim: This protocol paper reports on a study that aims to embed evidence-based smoking cessation strategies for people with cancer who are current smokers into routine care, resulting in in system wide improvements, an implemented program and model for further dissemination. Methods: Across three rural/regional sites, and with partners Quit Victoria and Western Alliance, this study employs a variety of methodologies to embed smoking cessation support to improve outcomes for people with cancer who currently smoke. Specifically, the project will embed a system of responsibilities and training in rural and regional health services to routinely engage people with cancer who smoke in support services. The program will: · Promote routine delivery of smoking cessation care by trained oncology staff (oncologists/nurses/ allied health) · Establish referral pathways to Quitline · Correspond with general practitioners, to: i) outline the benefits of quitting in this context, ii) promote access to nicotine replacement therapy and iii) support quitting in the community. · Improve routine recording of smoking status and documentation of provision of brief intervention (personalised advice given, resources provided) and outcomes. Participants: are oncology staff and general practitioners across three health services: Ballarat Health Service, East Grampians Health Service (Ararat), Wimmera Health Care Group (Horsham), all located in Victoria, Australia. Data collection will occur across four sources: 1) Oncology staff: qualitative and quantitative data collection understanding confidence and views on provision on cessation advice; 2) Monitoring Quitline calls, 3) Interview with local general practitioners and 4) Medical record reviews to explore frequency of recording of smoking status. Data will be collected pre/postintervention. Results: The project is underway with the intervention manuals in development. The project is due for completion in 2020. Conclusion: This project takes a health services approach to integration of smoking cessation support in routine care for people with cancer in rural and regional areas. This program of work has capacity to determine best approaches to integrate smoking cessation into routine care, resulting in reduced mortality and morbidity, improved effectiveness of anticancer treatments, and reduced health care costs; by establishing internationally relevant, embedded health care interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]