The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention held a meeting for the Interagency Committee on Smoking and Health (ICSH) down in Washington, D.C. on June 14, 2018. The US Surgeon General, Dr. Jerome Adams, presided over the meeting, and there were speakers on the intersection of tobacco use and behavioral health populations including those suffering from mental illness and/or substance abuse disorders. Dr. Williams was invited to speak, and in turn, requested that I come along and speak as well as a member of the CHOICES team. Several speakers spoke during the morning session, we ate lunch, and I was the first speaker after lunch. I spoke and then out of the blue, the US Surgeon General sent out a tweet about hearing me at the meeting, along with a photo he had taken of me up at the podium. He mentioned my name and NJ CHOICES. Obviously, it is good Public Relations for our small program. My immediate boss, Trish Dooley-Budsock told me about it. I was surprised and I hope I get another opportunity to speak at important meetings or events. He seemed very impressed that since I quit smoking, I have saved about $150,000!
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