Student Athletes Take On Smokeless Tobacco
Dr. Joan McGowan, associate professor of dental hygiene in the Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine at the University of Michigan's School of Dentistry, speaks about the dangers of smokeless tobacco Monday, Jan 23 at 8 p.m. in the Remick Heritage Center, Presbyterian Hall, on the Alma College campus.
McGowan's talk is free and open to the public. Her visit is sponsored by the Alma College Student Athlete Advisory Committee and the Athletic Department in cooperation with Ithaca Dentist Martha Bamfield '83.
McGowan has been involved in tobacco cessation, prevention, and control since 1991 when she became a trainer for the National Cancer Institute's program for dental professionals on "How to Help Your Patients be Tobacco-Free." Since then she has trained hundreds of dentists, dental hygienists, and dental assistants how to implement a tobacco cessation program in the dental office. She was the leading force in getting this content in the dental and dental hygiene curricula at the University of Michigan's School of Dentistry.
In 1996 she became the Coordinator of the Michigan Spit Tobacco Education Program, funded by the Delta Dental Plan of Michigan, working to break the connection between spit tobacco and athletics. Currently, she serves as the Co-Chair of the Washtenaw County Tobacco Reduction Coalition which played a major role in persuading the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners to pass the Washtenaw County Smoke Free Workplace Ordinance in November, 2002.
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#060107 AP
Posted: Tue, January 17th, 2006 at 11:04AM
