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INTREPID Lab Newsletter Volume 7
STOP and STOP on the Net: Online Smoking Cessation Program
STOP on the Net Attends Toronto Newcomer Day
STOP Booth at Toronto Newcomer Day, featuring INTREPID Lab Staff Pierre E., Patricia H., Madhurja B., and Rebecca H.
With ongoing support from Ontario’s Ministry of Health, CAMH offers STOP on the Net (SOTN), an online smoking cessation program for adults 18+ living in Ontario. Eligible participants receive a free six-week supply of nicotine replacement therapy, including nicotine patches and their choice of gum or lozenges, mailed directly to their address.
SOTN prioritizes improving access to treatment across local communities, including those who may be unattached to primary care. Current outreach efforts include engagement with Public Health Units, community-based organizations, faith-based groups, and groups disproportionately affected by tobacco related harms, including veterans and newcomer communities. On May 29th, the INTREPID Lab team connected with hundreds of newcomers at Toronto Newcomer Day at Nathan Phillips Square, promoting SOTN and other programs that support health and well-being.
To better serve event attendees, the team developed culturally-responsive materials for the event, offering promotional resources in multiple languages including English, French, Arabic, Urdu, and Farsi. Team members also engaged directly with participants in various languages to ensure meaningful communication and support.
For more information or to request promotional materials (posters and/or information cards) for your organization, please contact stoponthenet@camh.ca.
Save the date and stay tuned for more details in the upcoming months.
The STOP Program is Canada’s largest smoking cessation initiative. For over 20 years, STOP has provided evidence-based, cost-free treatment to support individuals across the province with nicotine dependence treatment. Since launching in 2005, with funding from Ontario’s Ministry of Health, and in partnership with over 400 diverse healthcare sites, STOP has treated half a million (500,000) Ontarians with making a quit attempt (that’s roughly the size of 11 Toronto FIFA Stadiums)!
With the aim of providing the right care in the right place, STOP has expanded access to care through innovative service delivery models that include rich partnerships across primary care, community agencies, addictions and mental health treatment centres, cancer care centres, long-term care homes, specialty settings, as well as partnerships across Indigenous-led organizations. Through these partnerships, over 1600 healthcare practitioners have implemented STOP in their settings and offer timely care to their patients, receiving capacity-building opportunities through a robust Community of Practice.
Under the INTREPID Lab’s Learning Health System approach, the STOP team rigorously evaluates the program and utilizes these insights to improve and adapt, strengthening individual-level opportunities to achieve better health as well as contributing towards measurable system-level improvement impacts across the province.
To acknowledge this significant program milestone, STOP will host a hybrid celebration in Fall 2026, inviting all who have been involved in implementing the program to join virtually. The celebration will acknowledge the importance of partnerships, recognizing that collaboration across organizations has been central to the program’s success. Details to come!
If your organization is interested in partnering with STOP, please contact us at stop.program@camh.ca.
STOP Program Expands Reach Across Ontario
The STOP Program continues to grow, strengthening engagement with new organizations across Ontario. Over the past year, the program has welcomed a diverse range of new partners committed to supporting smoking cessation.
New additions include several community pharmacies, seven addictions and mental health agencies, three Indigenous Health Organizations, and three Family Health Organizations or Teams. In addition, the program has onboarded nearly 30 Long-Term Care homes, along with specialized cardiac and respiratory clinics.
This expansion reflects the program’s ongoing commitment to increasing access to evidence-based care across a variety of settings. By partnering with organizations that serve diverse populations, the STOP Program continues to broaden its reach and strengthen integration within the healthcare system.
Through these efforts, the program is better-positioned than ever to support individuals across Ontario, ensuring more patients can benefit from accessible, coordinated smoking cessation services.
STOP in Long-Term Care: Evaluation Insights
Long-Term Care homes face unique complexities in program implementation, what with resident care needs and operational challenges. Therefore, we conducted (and recently completed) a mixed-method evaluation of the STOP Program in Long-Term Care homes (LTCHs), thereby gathering insights through surveys and staff interviews across very diverse roles and home types.
Overall, staff working in these settings highlighted the value of offering no-cost nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) to residents and endorsed support in helping both residents and staff reduce or quit smoking. Encouragingly, many reported noticeable positive behavioural changes among residents using NRT, which also contributed to easing staff workloads.
Key implementation challenges remain, including residents’ cognitive limitations, inconsistent family support, and gaps in staff training participation and lack of time for capacity building. Those who completed training reported improved confidence in their skills to treat residents. To help promote the program and create awareness for family/caregivers of residents living in these settings, the STOP team created various resources including promotional posters and pamphlets to describe the benefits of the program.
TEACH Project
Upcoming Accredited Trainings
Foundations in Tobacco Use Interventions (Core)Course
This 19.5 hour online introductory course will help learners to screen, assess, and treat people with tobacco dependence using evidence-based pharmacotherapies and psychosocial interventions. Tools and techniques for enhancing motivation and facilitating cessation groups are also covered.
Dates: July 8 – Aug 12, 2026
Cost: $575 CAD
NEW Course | Nicotine and Youth: A Practical Guide
This condensed, self-directed course provides a practical overview of nicotine use among youth and young adults. The course explores current nicotine use trends, adolescent brain development, trauma- and violence-informed care, comprehensive assessment, motivational interviewing, youth-centred care planning, relapse prevention, and appropriate pharmacological treatments. Designed for completion in approximately two hours, it offers focused, practical learning.
Dates: Sept 2 – Sept 23, 2026
Cost: $200 CAD
SAVE THE DATE for Upcoming TEACH Educational Rounds
Aug 12, 2026 (12-1 PM): Cancer Populations and Smoking Cessation
Questions? Contact teach@camh.ca
NEW Course | Vaping Interventions: A Practical Guide
This self-directed course provides healthcare providers with an overview of how to address vaping and e‑cigarette use among adult clients. Learners will explore current patterns of vaping, effective approaches to screening and assessment, and psychosocial and pharmacological interventions. The course also outlines strategies for engaging clients using a client‑centred, biopsychosocial approach, including considerations for adults who both vape and smoke, as well as the use of e‑cigarettes for harm reduction or cessation.
Dates: Nov 11 – Dec 2, 2026
Cost: $200
TEACH Educational Rounds: Smoking Cessation Considerations for Geriatric Populations
TEACH Educational Rounds is a free monthly, accredited webinar series for healthcare providers across all disciplines to enhance knowledge and skills in offering tobacco and nicotine cessation interventions.
Date: July 22, 2026 (12-1 PM ET)
Presenter: Dr. Aviva Rostas and Marilyn White-Campbell
Research
New Publications
Minian, N. Commentary on Buss et al.: state endorsement as a driver of vape-assisted smoking cessation: interpreting early evidence from Swap to Stop. Addiction. 2026;121: 1566-1567. Link to full article
Iturralde K, Boparai K, Veldhuizen S, Selby P, Zawertailo L. Attentional bias in young adult tobacco cigarette smokers and e-cigarette users: an eye-tracking study. Psychopharmacology 243, 721–732 (2026). Link to article
Iturralde K, Karunarathne S, Selby P, Zawertailo L. A Review of the environmental impacts of post-consumer electronic cigarette waste and disposal. Nicotine & Tobacco Research. 2026;28(5):700-709. Open abstract
Kouzoukas E, Navas C, Zawertailo L, Fougere C, Bacon SL, Chadi N, Evans WK, McNeill A, Melamed O, Moraes TJ, Nnorom O, Schwartz R, Shahab L, Ween M, Selby P. The health effects of vaping and e-cigarettes: consensus recommendations. International Journal of Drug Policy. 2026;148:105117. Open access link
Kyrychenko P, Wong BKC, Veldhuizen S, Minian N, Zawertailo L, Selby P, Melamed OC. Physical multimorbidity and quit outcomes in a publicly funded smoking cessation programme. Internal Medicine Journal. 2026;56(3):410-416. Link to full article
Mehta DD, Sloan ME, Sas A, Freeman C, George TP, Selby P, Zawertailo L, Zangen A, Blumberger DM, Le Foll B, Veldhuizen S, Tang VM. Craving induction and treatment response in transcranial magnetic stimulation for tobacco use disorder. Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging. 2026;11(2):250-256. Link to full article
Mehta DD, Goud R, Sanches M, Buckley L, Sloan ME, Vandervoort J, Le Foll B, Beyraghi N, Kaduri P, Zawertailo L, Selby P, Tang VM. Effectiveness and clinical predictors of a virtual based combined cognitive behavioral and motivational enhancement group therapy for adults with cannabis use disorder. Drug and Alcohol Dependence. 2026;279:113048. Link to full article
Man X, Selby P, Zawertailo L, Veldhuizen S. Retreatment with nicotine replacement therapy: Predictors of re-enrolment in a cohort of people who smoke seeking treatment in ambulatory settings. Drug and Alcohol Dependence. 2026;279:113056. Link to full article
News & Announcements
INTREPID Lab at CAMH is proud to be recognized by BioTalent Canada as an I.D.E.A.L. Bioscience Employer™ for 2026. This distinction shines a spotlight on INTREPID Lab’s ongoing commitment to embedding inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility (IDEA) best practices into its workplace and hiring practices.
“Our growth really comes down to our commitment to our people. We’re very intentional about connecting staff and learners at all stages of their careers, and we want different perspectives to collide so we can innovate and learn together,” says Sarwar Hussain, Director of Innovation Operations & Strategy, INTREPID Lab. “We’ve built a space where it’s okay to experiment, fail, and learn from one another. Receiving this recognition for a fourth year in-a-row confirms our ongoing commitment to a culture where everyone continuously has the room to truly thrive.”
Each year, BioTalent Canada, a national workforce development council, recognizes organizations in the bio-economy, both large and small, that demonstrate leadership in IDEA. Applicants undergo a rigorous evaluation based on seven key criteria that measure how IDEA is integrated into organizational strategy, leadership and organizational outcomes.
Over the past year, INTREPID Lab has continued to embed IDEA practices across its work through several initiatives:
- Accessibility and digital inclusion: Maintained Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) compliance through reviews and remediation of the INTREPID Lab public website and the Smoking Treatment for Ontario Patients (STOP) portal.
- Lived experience in patient engagement: Expanded patient-oriented practice by hiring Partner Engagement Co-Facilitators with lived experience of tobacco use, vaping, and mental illness and involving People with Lived and Living Experience (PPLLE) advisors to guide research and resource development.
- The Training Enhancement in Applied Counselling and Health (TEACH) Program: Integrated IDEA principles into all TEACH training, supported by diverse advisory groups and inclusive teaching practices. To date, over 6,500 healthcare providers have participated in TEACH.
- Advancing equity-focused training initiatives: Expanded the TEACH Program’s reach through targeted cessation programs, including 2SLGBTQIA+, Black communities, and youth.
- Fostering inclusive research culture and leadership: Hosted the 2025 INTREPID Lab Academic Fair with a dedicated Equity, Diversity, Inclusivity, Indigeneity, and Accessibility (EDIIA) theme, highlighting trainee-led research.
- Supporting Indigenous-led and informed care: Partnered with Aboriginal Health Access Centers and Indigenous partners to deliver culturally grounded, community-guided Tabacco cessation initiatives.
- Expanding equitable access through health system partnerships: Continued to deliver cost-free nicotine and tobacco treatment through partnerships with over 400 organizations across Ontario, prioritizing vulnerable and equity-deserving populations.
To learn more about the I.D.E.A.L Bioscience Employers™ program and the 2025-2026 recipients, please visit biotalent.ca/IDEALEmployer.
Together, we're advancing research, treatment and hope for a healthier future. Thank you for being part of the INTREPID Lab community and for your continued support of our shared mission. Your compassion and expertise make a difference every day.
With gratitude,
Dr. Selby & the INTREPID Lab Team
