WASHINGTON, Oct. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- The Teamsters Union announced today that it has teamed up with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI), an affiliate of the Harvard Medical School for a program addressing smoking cessation and obesity.
“The health of our members is of the utmost importance,” said Tyson Johnson, Teamsters Freight Division Director. “Smoking has ingrained itself into the truck driving culture but there is no reason why this can’t be reversed. This program fits into the daily lives of truck drivers so it will be much easier for them to stay involved in the program. Anything the Teamsters Union can do to improve the lives of our members, we will do.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has awarded researchers at DFCI two grants totaling $3 million to develop workplace-based health promotion and prevention programs. DFCI will be working with the Teamsters Union on a study called “Health Promotion for Mobile Workers: Addressing Smoking Cessation and Obesity.” The DFCI is among the leading cancer research and care centers in the United States.
The study will assess the effectiveness of a tailored telephone delivery program on tobacco use and weight management for motor freight workers, and will provide one of the first evidence-based health-promotion programs for mobile workers.
“Because of the mobile nature of this work, worksite health programs are generally inaccessible for these workers; in addition transportation workers have among the highest smokes rates of any workers,” said Glorian Sorensen, Director of Dana-Farber’s Center for Community Based Research, and professor at the Harvard School of Public Health and the study’s principal investigator. “Workers may use smoking to alleviate boredom, cope with stress and fatigue, and to connect with fellow workers; being overweight may be strongly tied to drivers’ lack of physical activity and unhealthful food options available on the road. We will develop a program that responds to these concerns.”
Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents more than 1.4 million hardworking men and women throughout the United States and Canada.
International Brotherhood of Teamsters
CONTACT: Jim Carlile of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters,+1-202-624-8729
Web site: http://www.teamster.org/