Dispelling Myths about Smoking, Mental Health/Substance Use Disorders and Recovery - February 2019

“Dispelling Myths about Smoking, Mental Health/Substance Use Disorders and Recovery” was presented on February 19, 2019; by Rosemary Bak Lowery, MS, CHES®, CNP, ACSM-CPT; Certified Health Education Specialist. Adults with mental illness, including substance use disorder (SUD,) are at risk of dying 25 years earlier than the general population. The major contributor to this premature mortality is smoking-related disease. While cigarette smoking has trended downward in recent years, it is still highly prevalent in adults with mental health and/or substance use disorder (MH/SUD). Why is this so? Recent research has suggested that the biggest issue lies with the many common myths and misperceptions about the relationship between smoking, MH/SUD and recovery. This program will shed light on popularly-cited “facts” about smoking, reinforced by both consumers and care professionals alike. Viewers will gain a deeper understanding of the extent of this public health problem and understand how they can be a part of the solution. People struggling to quit, or afraid to try because of a fear of adverse consequences, may gain hope as they learn about the true relationship between smoking and MH/SUD. The fact of the matter is: People with MH/SUD can quit smoking, and when they do, they experience improved mental health and greater success in SUD recovery.

This program is part of the Dawn Farm Education Series, a FREE, annual education series developed to provide accurate, helpful, hopeful, practical, current information about substance use disorders, recovery, family and related issues. The Education Series is organized by Dawn Farm, a non-profit community of programs providing a continuum of substance use disorder treatment and recovery support services. For information, please see http://www.dawnfarm.org/programs/education-series.

ABOUT THE PRESENTER:
Rosemary Bak Lowery, MS, CHES®, CNP, ACSM-CPT; Certified Health Education Specialist.

Rosemary (a.k.a. "Rose," or "Rosie") is a Certified Health Education Specialist who completed her Master of Science degree in Community Health Education at Eastern Michigan University. She has been working in the Health, Fitness, and Wellness industry for the past decade, with much of her experience being in program development, one-on-one coaching, and group instruction. She has worked in wellness promotion at the YMCA, EMU, and University of Michigan. "Past lives" in the professional realm have included corporate communications and satellite broadcasting, as well as directing and performing with a local dance troupe. Along with her passion for health promotion, she brings in-depth personal experience and academic knowledge of mental health issues, substance use disorder and recovery. In 2015, she was proud to publish her first academic article in The Health Education Monograph, “Using Technology to Help Individuals with Co-Occurring Disorders: A Dialectical Behavior Therapy Intervention Informed by the Transtheoretical Model,” wherein she proposed a novel mode to address drug addiction and symptoms of mental illness in a personalized, confidential manner. She lives peacefully (and sometimes hilariously) in Wayne County with her husband, her beloved kitty-cat, and her phenomenal baby boy.