Improve Behavioral Health Outcomes with Free Tobacco Toolkit

Improve Behavioral Health Outcomes with Free Tobacco Toolkit

The South Dakota Department of Health Tobacco Control Program has created a comprehensive toolkit to help behavioral health staff and facilities address tobacco use effectively.

With this toolkit, you should be empowered to:

• Implement tobacco-free campus policies.
• Integrate tobacco cessation into treatment.
• Improve client outcomes.
• Respond to challenges with addressing tobacco use.
• Effectively use resources to engage leadership and staff on the topic.
• Access free resources.

Adults with behavioral health conditions in South Dakota smoke at nearly double the rate of the general population. Yet only 2.4% of the estimated 60,000+ South Dakotans with these conditions have enrolled in SD QuitLine services. This gap represents both a significant challenge and an enormous opportunity.

Whether you’re ready to implement a tobacco-free campus policy, integrate cessation strategies into treatment plans, or simply start promoting available resources, this toolkit provides the practical guidance you need.

What’s in the Toolkit?

The South Dakota Tobacco Control Behavioral Health Toolkit is designed for everyone involved in behavioral health care:

• Administrators

• Counselors

• Support staff

• Grantees

• Community stakeholders

It offers two main pathways, allowing you to start where your facility is ready: implementing tobacco-free campus/grounds policies and integrating tobacco cessation into treatment.

1. Implementing Tobacco-Free Campus Policies

   1. Within the toolkit, you are provided with step-by-step implementation guideance, including timelines. You can also find model policies, organizational change frameworks, graduated enforcement plans that balance accountability and compassion, and free signage.

2.  Integrating Tobacco Cessation into Treatment

   1. The toolkit meets you where you are by offering strategies to start small or dive all in.

Each section includes evidence-based clinical frameworks, ready-to-use toolks like checklists and assessment forms, real case studies from other states, and proven strategies for building buy-in at your facility.

Why It Matters

The connection between tobacco use and behavioral health is significant. People with mental illness and substance use disorders consume approximately 40% of all cigarettes smoked in the United States, and tobacco-related diseases are leading causes of death for this population.

But here's the encouraging part: addressing tobacco use supports recovery rather than hindering it. Research shows that quitting tobacco during substance use disorder treatment can increase long-term recovery success rates by 25%. Tobacco cessation has also been shown to improve mental health symptoms, reduce anxiety and depression, and enhance overall well-being.

Despite common concerns, facilities that have implemented tobacco-free policies report improvements in both staff and patient wellbeing without disrupting treatment. Clients often appreciate having their tobacco use addressed as part of whole-person care.

Getting Started

The toolkit's flexible design means you don't need to implement everything at once. Review the table of contents and identify sections most relevant to your current needs. Perhaps you'll start by ordering free educational materials to display in your waiting room, or maybe you're ready to draft a tobacco-free policy using the provided model language.

The SD Tobacco Control Program offers free technical assistance, including:

• Staff training on the SD QuitLine and AAR techniques

• Help setting up electronic health record systems

• Help streamlining referrals

• Free signage for your facility (pending availability)

Whether you're an administrator exploring policy options, a counselor looking for ways to support clients who want to quit, or a grantee working on tobacco reduction initiatives, this toolkit provides the evidence-based guidance to take your next step.

Download the South Dakota Tobacco Control Behavioral Health Toolkit today or contact the SD Tobacco Control Program at DOHTobaccoControl@state.sd.us for personalized support. Together, we can make tobacco-free recovery the standard across South Dakota's behavioral health facilities.

Sources:

1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey Data, 2023
2. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2019
3. National Institute of Mental Health, 2024
4. Prochaska JJ, Delucchi K, Hall SM. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 2004
5. South Dakota Department of Health, Tobacco Users with a Behavioral Health Condition, 2022