Tobacco Use Prevention & Cessation
Updated September 2025
Educatonal Materials & Resources
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MD Anderson is one of 28 sites accredited by the Council for Tobacco Treatment Training Programs (CTTTP) to provide a five-day training for individuals interested in becoming credentialed as a Tobacco Treatment Specialist (TTS). The program offers the highest quality tobacco treatment training, based on the most up to date research evidence on tobacco treatment strategies. Our program offers more than the required 24 hours of core competencies, such as, Counseling Skills, Motivational Interviewing, Pharmacotherapy, Relapse Prevention, Treatment Planning and more.
We welcome participants from all health care disciplines and cultures. Our goal is to train interdisciplinary health care providers and public health professionals to become tobacco treatment champions for their organizations and communities. To date, we have trained more than 1,400 from across the U.S. and seven countries. Participants in this program can become credentialed to treat tobacco dependence when they successfully complete our training and pass an exam. Read more about our Tobacco Treatment Training Program findings in our article published in Advances in Cancer Education and Quality Improvement.
Upcoming Trainings (CE credits available)
Please contact ctts@mdanderson.org if you have any questions about the program or would like to be added to the participant waiting list for trainings.
Audience Criteria
This activity is intended for health care providers and behavioral health professionals, who counsel and treat patients toward full abstinence from tobacco and nicotine products.
Prescribers Track
This particular track takes place on Thursday of the training week. The lectures covered are Pharmacotherapy, Treatment Planning, and Relapse Prevention. Please note we welcome registrants to join us on Wednesday afternoon for additional background on pharmacotherapy, but credit hours will only be provided for Thursday (up to 7 credit hours). For those who complete the 1 day training, they will obtain a certificate of attendance/completion, but are not eligible for the national exam to obtain certification by the American Heart Association (AHA) in tobacco treatment. To learn more, contact ctts@mdanderson.org.
Scholarship Opportunity
MD Anderson's Tobacco Treatment Training Program will have scholarships available for VA employees during the 2024-2025 trainings. This is made possible by a generous donation from Mr. Ellis J. Williamson, who is a World War II Veteran and retired member of the Army Air Corps hailing from Gallatin, Texas (Cherokee County). Eligibility for the scholarship includes (1) verification of employment within a Veterans Affairs (VA) Hospital or Medical Center in the United States, and (2) provide tobacco and nicotine cessation services for patients. To learn more information or inquire about eligibility for the scholarship, email ctts@mdanderson.org.
For more information on the training, visit the website at
https://www.mdanderson.org/education-training/clinical-training/certificate-programs-review-courses/certified-tobacco-treatment-training-program.html.
The University of Texas MD Anderson EndTobacco® Program calls for an unprecedented and sustained institutional commitment to leadership, investment and collaboration to advance evidence-based tobacco control as a core element of our mission.
MD Anderson istargeting the tobacco epidemic through EndTobacco, with three major goals:
- Prevent initiation and reduce current use of tobacco products among youth
- Reduce exposure to secondhand smoke
- Increase access to and promote evidence-based interventions in tobacco treatment
Under the banner of EndTobacco, MD Anderson:
- Promotes public health actions that reduce tobacco related cancers
- Collaborates with leading organizations committed to ending tobacco as a public health priority
- Shares our multi-disciplinary expertise and our experience as researchers and practitioners
- Educates the public and health care professionals
- Extends research to make a measurable difference at a population level
- Accelerates translation of research findings to the real world
- Shares findings from our research, evidence-based programs and experiences
For more information on the EndTobacco® Program, visit the website at https://www.mdanderson.org/research/departments-labs-institutes/programs-centers/endtobacco-program.html.
MD Anderson Print Materials - Tobacco and Lung Cancer
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center develops print materials on cancer prevention, screening and risk-reduction topics. To request materials for your organization, complete the online Community Services Request Form or call 713-792-3363. Note: Print material requests usually require two weeks notice. Quantities are limited to 50 per title. Downloadable PDFs are available on several topics at https://www.mdanderson.org/about-md-anderson/community-services/print-materials.html.
Tobacco and lung cancer prevention materials (PDF):
Be Well Communities™
Be Well Communities™ is MD Anderson's place-based strategy for cancer prevention and control, working with communities to promote wellness and stop cancer before it starts. We unite individuals, schools, workplaces, government agencies, health care providers and policymakers to plan and carry out sustainable, community-led solutions that will make positive, long-lasting changes in people’s lives.
Be Well Communities is an initiative of the Cancer Prevention and Control Platform, within the Moon Shots Program™.
Our team works collaboratively with residents and community-based organizations to implement evidence-based strategies that can reduce the risk of cancer with a focus on five key areas: healthy eating, active living, sun safety, tobacco-free living and preventive care.
Be Well Communities is built on 100 years of healthy community initiative best practices, literature, and experience. The model centers on working with the community-based organizations to build their capacity to deliver and evaluate evidence-based interventions. We create strong community linkages, advance professional and policy changes, establish an active health coalition, and create a sustainability plan to transition the initiative to the community.
https://www.mdanderson.org/BeWellCommunities
On behalf of the City of Houston/Harris County Community Transformation Initiative, the Comprehensive Cancer Control Tobacco Work Group at MD Anderson Cancer Center created a Houston/Harris County Tobacco Task Force (Task Force) to serve as a place for collaboration, resource development, and technical assistance to address tobacco use among college campus populations. The Houston Department of Health & Human Services received a planning award from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to build capacity to support healthy lifestyles in Harris County. The award targets tobacco-free living, active living and healthy eating, quality clinical and other preventive services, and social and emotional wellness.
The work group was charged with lending their expertise to the development of a Tobacco Task Force Toolkit. The purpose of the Toolkit is to provide a coordinated strategic framework for institutions of higher education in Houston/Harris County to develop and or strengthen their current campus tobacco policy.
…empowering Texans with the knowledge needed to reduce the impact of cancer. 
