(FOX40.COM) — The UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center announced that it will launch the Tobacco Cessation Policy Research Center after receiving nearly $4 million in funding from a state research agency.
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The mission of the center is to further implement strong local and state tobacco control policies while also contributing to the decrease of tobacco-related diseases by helping people quit.

Richard L. Kravitz, director of UC Center Sacramento, said, “This new center has the potential to significantly reduce tobacco-related harm in our state.”

“As the University of California’s main hub for policy-related knowledge sharing in the state capital, we are proud to participate in advancing the training and dissemination aims of this grant,” Kravitz added.

Elisa Tong, a nationally recognized tobacco researcher and an internist at UC Davis Health, will serve as the center’s director. Tong is the medical director of the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center SToP: Stop Tobacco Program.

She is also principal investigator for CA Quits, which works with the state’s Medi-Cal managed care plans and providers to improve tobacco treatment delivery, a press release stated.

“Our center will generate evidence for policy adoption and implementation, collaborate with community and policy stakeholders, and develop the pipeline of researchers to sustain the mission,” said Tong.

According to officials within the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, tobacco use is linked to 30% of all cancer-related deaths.