LifeFirst has been created to catalyse, build capacity and establish a high quality, proven tobacco treatment service for individuals from all social strata.

LifeFirst is built upon an international research base, as well as standards and protocols from the Mayo Clinic (USA), Ottawa Model (Canada) and the National Health Service (UK). These have then been adapted to Indian sensibilities and environments. The U.S. Public Health Service guideline ‘Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence: 2008 Clinical Practice Guidelines’ and Massachusetts General Hospital’s Tobacco Treatment Service have provided a platform upon which LifeFirst’s protocols have been built.

In order to achieve lasting results, comprehensive counselling, pharmacotherapy and follow-up services are provided by Tobacco Treatment Specialists (TTS), trained at the Mayo Clinic Nicotine Dependence Centre (USA).

LifeFirst delivers tobacco treatment services in a variety of contexts such as hospitals, primary healthcare centres, government health programmes, workplaces, community settings and schools. It even goes a step beyond to provide technical support to organisations that wish to set up tobacco treatment services themselves. LifeFirst provides hands-on support to these organisations, providing them with assistance in planning, implementation and preliminary monitoring of the service. It also provides guidance with regard to the implementation of tobacco-free policies, while also developing Information Education and Communication (IEC) materials for both, providers and patients/clients.