TAMPA, Fla. (November 8, 2018) –The Florida Tobacco Cessation Alliance (FTCA) wants to recognize employers who provide the best in workplace wellness.
Smoking costs Florida $19.6 billion a year in workplace productivity losses, premature deaths, and direct healthcare expenditures. The FTCA is seeking local businesses and organizations that know the importance of providing tobacco cessation coverage to employees. By offering these benefits employers can help save lives and money.
The Worksite Wellness Award was developed to recognize companies who offer outstanding cessation benefits to their employees based on the Public Health Services Clinical Practice Guidelines on “Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence.” There are two levels that can be earned, Silver or Gold.
“This award was established as a way to recognize and set a model for businesses that are providing comprehensive tobacco cessation services for their employees,” said Diadra W. Biles, DPM, MPH, CPH, Community Coordinator/Tobacco Program Manager, Hillsborough County Anti-Drug Alliance.
The Florida Tobacco Cessation Alliance, led by the American Lung Association in Florida, is comprised of a comprehensive network of groups determined to improve the health of our state. The Alliance works together to raise awareness that tobacco addiction is a chronic, relapsing medical condition, not just a habit or personal choice, and to advocate for the adoption of comprehensive cessation resources for all tobacco users statewide.
The FTCA offers free assistance to businesses creating or updating a tobacco control policy to exclude electronic cigarettes and other newer devices in the workplace.
For more information and to apply for the Worksite Wellness Award, please visit http://ftcalliance.com/.
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About Hillsborough County Anti-Drug Alliance:
Hillsborough County Anti-Drug Alliance (HCADA) has been in existence, active in the community and supportive of law enforcement, the court system, prevention agencies, and substance abuse treatment providers since its inception in 1989. In 2003, HCADA restructured as a 501(c) (3) to apply for grant funding. Subsequently, HCADA expanded its community-based alcohol, tobacco and substance abuse education and prevention activities. It participates as well in the development of related planning strategies, statewide in scope, for the betterment of the Hillsborough County community. HCADA offers open membership and participation to all interested individuals and continues to provide a public forum for sharing information and new ideas. For more information about HCADA, visit www.hcada.com.
About Tobacco Free Florida
The department’s Tobacco Free Florida campaign is a statewide cessation and prevention campaign funded by Florida’s tobacco settlement fund. Since the program began in 2007, more than 188,000 Floridians have successfully quit using one of Tobacco Free Florida’s free tools and services. There are now approximately 451,000 fewer adult smokers in Florida than there was 10 years ago, and the state has saved $17.7 billion in health care costs. To learn more about Tobacco Free Florida’s Quit Your Way services, visit www.tobaccofreeflorida.com.