Old North State Medical Society is the third oldest African American medical society in the nation and has been in existence for 122 years.  The organization's mission has always been, "To ensure the equity in the delivery of healthcare to all people." A major element in this mission is to reduce the various health disparities that continue to afflict the African American community. Six years ago, ONSMS recognized the negative impact that tobacco use has among African American teens. Since that understanding, ONSMS has committed to use its unique community of minority healthcare providers to raise awareness amongst African-American teens regarding life changing and/or threatening illnesses associated with tobacco use.

ONSMS has an opportunity to train minority physicians and other healthcare providers through its eight local medical societies. These local societies are located in areas across the state of North Carolina that have a significant minority population which includes Raleigh, Durham, Charlotte, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Fayetteville, Jacksonville and Greenville.  With funding from the North Carolina Health and Wellness Trust Fund, ONSMS can help physicians and their office staffs provide effective cessation counseling to their teen patients.

ONSMS provides the following services around cessation education for physicians:

• Trainings and seminars
  • 5A’s trainings
  • Lunch and learns
  • Online Webinars
• One-on-One Counseling
  • Office visits
  • Conference calls
• Leadership Development