In Conversation with Dr. Larider Ruffin
In this edition of The Take Down, Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids’ Allyssa Williams interviews Dr. Larider Ruffin, Chair of the National Black Nurses Association’s Substance Use Disorders Committee. Dr. Ruffin also chairs the MSN program at Stockton University and is CEO at Ruffin Associates Healthy Housecalls where he maintains clinical practice as a Nurse Practitioner and Certified Tobacco Treatment Specialist.
Nurses are on the front lines of health care, and Dr. Ruffin is no stranger to the toll of tobacco use and the tactics used by Big Tobacco to keep people addicted. Helping people quit tobacco has been a lifelong mission, whether directly through patient treatment or through the National Black Nurses Association’s Smoking & Vaping Cessation program that he developed.
In this conversation, Dr. Ruffin explains the impact of tobacco use on communities of color, cessation resources for impacted communities and how we can all work together to achieve a healthier, tobacco-free future.
WATCH THE INTERVIEW:
I applaud the FDA for taking the steps to ban menthol which is the last allowable flavor in cigarettes. And banning all flavors in cigars which will help save lives, particularly among those disproportionately affected by these deadly products. We will be able to save our youth from tobacco with these actions.