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Project TEACH ECHO

Since 2015, Project TEACH (Tobacco Education and Cessation in the Health System) ECHO is a tele-mentoring program facilitated by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Through the program, we provide tobacco education, consulting and treatment strategies to clinical providers and health professionals through the Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) model. Project TEACH ECHO is available for all health care providers seeking knowledge to provide treatment services for tobacco and nicotine products. Our long-term goal is to prevent tobacco-related deaths by reducing smoking prevalence among Texans as well as the United States. Click here to register for our Project TEACH ECHO.

Through our ECHO TEACH sessions, MD Anderson engages with an estimated 1,200 healthcare providers in Texas, the U.S. and around the world. Click here to learn more. You can view past articles about ECHO TEACH in these journals:

Sessions At a Glance

580

We have over 580 Active Participants with that number growing each session.

On average attend our regular ECHO sessions

96%

of participants incorporate strategies taught during sessions

Related Resources

Overview

Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death killing more than 480,000 people a year. The current adult smoking prevalence rate in the United States is 10.8% which is estimated to be 30.8 million adults. In Texas, there is a prevalence rate of 11.3% or 2.59 million adults who currently smoke. However, smoking rates hide the elevated prevalence among certain populations such as youth and those with behavioral health disorders. Effective behavioral interventions and pharmacologic treatments for tobacco use and dependence exist and are very cost-effective, but are underutilized. Therefore, it is critical to reach these patients with tobacco and nicotine treatment services tailored to their needs and environment.

Studies estimate that each year family medicine practices have approximately 240 million opportunities to impact the tobacco use behaviors of Americans. Other studies have found that physicians and non-physicians produce the best results using multiple intervention strategies, and that self-help strategies alone are ineffective. This highlights current evidence that the most effective tobacco use treatment approach is combined counseling and pharmacotherapy.

The goal of Project TEACH is to increase access to and sustain specialized tobacco cessation practices among varying health care providers and educators using the Project ECHO framework created by The University of New Mexico. We also offer health care providers the opportunity to attend our Tobacco Treatment Training Program, and intensive training which equips providers with the tools they need to deliver expert care to those using tobacco products and electronic nicotine delivery systems. Attendees of this training can utilize Project TEACH as a resource to sustain and enhance the tobacco treatment specialists' training curriculum following the intensive in-person training.

Through Project TEACH ECHO, MD Anderson engages with healthcare providers to increase provider knowledge and skills to treat tobacco and nicotine addiction among the patients and community they serve. An article describing how TEACH was used in its early stages, throughout Texas local mental health authorities can be found here: Cogent Medicine.

History

To address smoking and other tobacco use among psychiatric consumers in Texas, in 2015, the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) awarded a grant to Rice University, The University of Houston, and Integral Care in Austin entitled "Taking Texas Tobacco Free (TTTF): Expanding the Integral Care Campus and Community Model into a Statewide Cancer Prevention Program" (PP130032; Co- PIs: Lam & Reitzel).

Expanding upon the goals of TTTF, Project TEACH was created by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in collaboration with TTTF investigators (UH, Rice, Integral Care in Austin) and implemented by teams in Behavioral Science and the EndTobacco Program.

Through our ECHO TEACH sessions, MD Anderson engages with an estimated 1,200 healthcare providers in Texas, the U.S. and around the world. You can view past articles about ECHO TEACH in these journals:

Cofta-Woerpel L, Lam C, Reitzel LR, Wilson W, Karam-Hage M, Beneventi D, Cofer J, Baker E, Wetter DW, Cinciripini PM, Blalock J. A tele-mentoring tobacco cessation case consultation and education model for healthcare providers in community mental health centers. Cogent Medicine, 5(1):1430652 (2018).

Cofta-Woerpel, L, Lam C, Reitzel LR, Wilson W, Karam-Hage M, Beneventi D, Cofer J, Baker E, Wetter DW, Cinciripini PM, Blalock J. A Tele-mentoring tobacco cessation case consultation and education model for healthcare providers in community mental health centers. In: Prime Archives in Medicine: 2nd Edition. Ed SE Adeniji. Vide Leaf: Hyderabad, India, 2020.

Upcoming Sessions

Sessions are held virtually twice per month on Tuesdays from 12pm - 1pm CT. The Zoom link is sent via email the week of each session to the listserv. To join the listserv or obtain the full schedule, email Echo-Tobacco@MDAnderson.org.

Presentation topics are subject to change based on speaker availability.

August 18, 2026 - Mental Health, Substance Use and Tobacco Cessation by Maher Karam-Hage, MD

September 8, 2026 - ACEs and Trauma Informed Nicotine Treatment by Christine Garver-Apgar, PhD & Robyn Hacker, PhD, LP, LAC

September 29, 2026 - Relapse Prevention for Tobacco Cessation by Melissa Macomber, MA, LPC

October 13, 2026 - Motivational Interviewing Part 1 & 2: Overview by Chinyere Y. Eigege, PhD, LCSW-S, NCTTP

October 27, 2026 - Behavioral Strategies in Tobacco Treatment: Stages of Change by Nancy Huang, MA, LPC

November 3, 2026 - Guest Presenter TBD

November 17, 2026 - Overview of First Line Tobacco Cessation Medication by Aleah Waxali, PA

December 1, 2026 - Motivational Interviewing Part 3 & 4: Open-Ended Questions & Affirmations by Chinyere Y. Eigege, PhD, LCSW-S, NCTTP

December 15, 2026 - Neurobiology of Nicotine Dependence by Maher Karam-Hage, MD

Case Presentation Sign Up

Each ECHO session has a case presentation component where you can ask the faculty and other participants for help with a patient situation or quality improvement of your treatment services. Below is additional information about care presentations and how to sign up for a date to present.

What to present as a case:

Patient case help
Assistance with strategies to improve treatment services
Follow up from a previously presented case

Interested in presenting a case? - Please send an email to Echo-Tobacco@MDAnderson.org to schedule a session date to present.

Continuing Education Credits

Free continuing education credits are available to obtain for attending the live sessions only. We currently offer the following types of continuing education credits:

Continuing Education Units (for Tobacco Treatment Specialist)
Continuing Medical Education (for MD, RN, AP, etc.) - Category 1
Continuing Medical Education (Physician Assistants, AAPA Category 1)
Continuing Education Credits (Non-Physician Attendance, SW - Social Work)

Instructions to Obtain Continuing Medical Education (CME/CEU) credits

One time only - follow the instructions here to get started:
1. Create an account in the MD Anderson Professional Education Portal (PEP @MD Anderson)
2. Sync your phone to your PEP@MD Anderson account

During each session:
1. Text the event ID code provided to the PEP@MD Anderson system phone number
2. You will receive a confirmation text once your attendance has been logged
3. Complete the session evaluation at the end of each session
4. Log into your PEP@MD Anderson account to view your credits on your transcript

Note: There is a limited timeframe to text in your attendance for CME credits. If you have any technical issues, email Echo-Tobacco@MDAnderson.org.