The new Cancer Center Cessation Initiative awarded 22 National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer centers each $250,000 annually over two years beginning in October, 2017 to enhance their smoking cessation programs. 

The effort was highlighted in an article for Cancer Today Magazine. 

"We’ve got this enormous paradox in America that about 30 percent of all cancer deaths are directly caused by smoking, and yet we have patients diagnosed with cancer who are entering and exiting cancer centers and the cause of [their] cancer is often not addressed. This initiative is designed to successfully address this challenge." said Michael Fiore, MD, MPH, MBA, professor, General Internal Medicine and director of the UW Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention (UW-CTRI).

Locally, UW-CTRI is partnering with the UW Carbone Cancer Center as coordinating center for the national effort. 

Resources:

• "An Opportunity to Quit," CancerToday Magazine, March 22, 2018