Onno van Schayck new chair of Stop Smoking Partnership
Onno van Schayck was unanimously elected chair of the Stop Smoking Partnership by its members. For the past twenty years, Van Schayck has been actively involved in research on COPD (a smoking-related disease) and the treatment of tobacco dependence in general medicine.
His 2003 research revealed that compensation for the treatment of tobacco dependence leads to a higher number of successful quitters and was integral to receiving compensation approval. This compensation was finalised and implemented in 2011. Given the vast number of smokers seeking help with quitting smoking, it is clear that this compensation certainly fulfils a very present need.
Intrigued
Van Schayck is fascinated by how people respond to smoking tobacco. “This emotionally-charged subject is extremely important. Why is it so terribly difficult to stop smoking and how can we prevent people from becoming addicted in the first place?” Van Schayck questions. “The healthcare system plays an important role in quitting smoking, but I’d prefer that nobody starts at all. The incredible damage caused by passive smoking, an issue on which the Dutch government and its people remain insufficiently informed, also concerns me. I therefore feel honoured to be able to chair this successful partnership.”
Van Schayck will lead the Partnership during the phase in which ‘stop smoking practitioners’ are introduced into the quality assurance register. Van Schayck is succeeding the previous chair and current director of STIVORO, Dr Lies van Gennip. “I’m very pleased that Professor van Schayck accepted our offer. Now that treatment for quitting smoking is included in insurance policies, the Partnership’s role in ensuring quality support is even more important. I think it’s wonderful that the Partnership is able to implement the skill and expertise of someone like Professor van Schayck,” says Gennip, who resigned from her position after five years of service.
The Partnership
The Stop Smoking Partnership was established in 2001 by public and private parties in the healthcare sector in the hopes of introducing a more effective approach to tobacco addiction in the Netherlands. A manual was published in 2004 detailing the consequences and regulatory guidelines of tobacco use. That same year also saw the development of a multidisciplinary medical guideline which was later implemented in 2009. A healthcare module was also developed in 2009 to facilitate the inclusion of treatment options for tobacco dependence in standard health insurance policies. The Partnership is currently developing a quality assurance register for tobacco addiction specialists, which should be operational in 2011.