Alere Wellbeing - About Us - News Releases

05.14.2012	Alere Wellbeing to Help Record Number of Tobacco Users on May 31 Alere Wellbeing encourages tobacco users to call the Quit For Life® Program on Thursday, May 31, 2012 to join the World Health Organization in fighting back against the tobacco industry on World No Tobacco Day. Alere Wellbeing intends to set a new record for the number of tobacco users receiving support from the Quit For Life® Program in a single day. Read the full press release (PDF)

04.30.2012	Top-Rated Diet in America Can Improve Employee Health & Productivity Alere Wellbeing will host the complimentary live webinar, Deconstructing DASH: How Your Workforce Would Benefit from America's #1 Rated Diet, on May 15 and May 22. Obesity expert, Robert F. Kushner, MD, Clinical Director of the Northwestern Comprehensive Center on Obesity, will provide an overview of DASH, compare it with other top-rated diets, offer insight into the evidence behind its design, and discuss best practices for employers selecting a worksite weight loss plan. Read the full press release (PDF)

02.29.2012	Premium Differentials a New Trend for Employers Trying to Save on Healthcare Costs Alere Wellbeing will host the complimentary live webinar, Best Practices for Premium Differentials in Tobacco Cessation on March 13 and 20. Alere Wellbeing Vice President of Client Services, Yuki Yang, will be joined by human resources professionals from Sherwin-Williams, WellPoint, and Family Dollar to present lessons learned and best practices for implementing a premium differential for smokers and smokeless tobacco users. Read the full press release (PDF)

02.08.2012	Good News for Spanish Speakers Who Want to Quit Smoking Alere Wellbeing's industry-leading tobacco cessation program, Quit For Life®, is now available in Spanish, removing language as a major barrier to quitting for Spanish speakers. Quit For Life® in Spanish, available to employers and health plans, features phone-based coaching with a native Spanish-speaking Quit Coach®, integrated with Web Coach®, the most innovative and advanced online learning and social support community available for tobacco users. Read the full press release (PDF)

12.28.2011	Alere Wellbeing & Collaborators Host First Annual International Quitline Institute Alere Wellbeing (formerly Free & Clear), the world’s largest provider of tobacco quitline services, announced the success of the first annual International Quitline Institute (IQI) held in Seattle October 9-14, 2011. The event brought 26 attendees from 16 countries representing all six World Health Organization regions. The IQI was a collaborative effort on the part of Alere Wellbeing and the University of Washington along with ACS, NCI, WHO, CDC, and Pfizer Medical Education Group. Read the full press release (PDF)

11.14.2011	Dr. Ron Goetzel & Alere Wellbeing to Present Webinar on Economic Impacts of Obesity in the Workplace Alere Wellbeing announces that Ron Z. Goetzel, PhD., will present the complimentary webinar, The Economic Impacts of Obesity in the Workplace - And, What You Can Do About It, on November 16th and December 2 at 11:AM PST Read the full press release (PDF)

11.11.2011	Weight Talk® Promises to Make Weight Loss Personal Again Alere Wellbeing (formerly Free & Clear) announced today a new behavioral weight loss program designed for employers looking to mitigate obesity-related healthcare costs and productivity losses. Read the full press release (PDF)

09.12.2011	Dr. Lorien Abroms & Alere Wellbeing Present Webinar on New Technology For Tobacco Cessation Lorien C. Abroms, Sc.D, assistant professor at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services, will present the upcoming complimentary Clear Insights webinar, "Mobile Apps, Text Messages, and Social Media: Can They Really Help Smokers Quit?" on September 15 and 22. Dr. Abroms will discuss how new technologies can cause real, measurable behavior change in the tobacco users at your organization – and save you from excess healthcare costs. Read the full press release (PDF)

09.07.2011	Alere Wellbeing Partners with Voxiva to Offer Text2Quit℠ with Quit For Life® Alere Wellbeing and Voxiva, pioneers in their respective fields of tobacco cessation and mobile heath, announced an agreement to integrate their services into one enhanced offering. Under the agreement, Alere obtains the exclusive right to offer Voxiva’s Text2Quit℠ service, enabling participants to receive up to 300 unique text messages that help keep them engaged and motivated, in conjunction with the Quit For Life® Program, its market leading tobacco cessation program. Read the full press release (PDF)

04.27.2011	Free & Clear Annouces Rebrand New Brand Sets Stage for Global Expansion, Product Innovation Read the full press release (PDF)

04.27.2011	Free & Clear Rebrands to Alere Wellbeing, Sets Stage for Global Expansion, Product Innovation Free & Clear, a national leader in behavior change services for health improvement, announced today that it will change its name to Alere Wellbeing. Free & Clear was acquired by Alere in September 2009. By developing new capabilities in near-patient diagnosis, monitoring, and health management, Alere enables individuals to take charge of improving their health and quality of life at home, under medical supervision. Read the full press release (PDF)

11.17.2010	Washington's Tobacco Prevention and Control Program Saves Thousands of Lives New research reports that the state’s Tobacco Prevention and Control Program is directly responsible for fewer people in Washington suffering and dying from tobacco-related heart attacks, strokes, respiratory diseases, and cancer. One of the primary resources to help people quit is the Washington State Tobacco Quitline, operated by Free & Clear. More than 150,000 people in Washington have called since it opened for business in 2000. Read the full press release (PDF)

08.19.2010	Washington's Adult Smoking Rate Now Third Lowest in the Nation The Washington State Department of Health issued this release, announcing that the state now has the third lowest smoking rate thanks to one of the nation's strongest smoke-free laws, the third highest cigarette tax in the country, and a comprehensive tobacco prevention and control program. Yet as more smokers turn to smokeless tobacco, the Washington State Tobacco Quitline, operated by Free & Clear, continues to provide help to people who are ready to quit tobacco for good. Read the full press release (PDF)

07.07.2010	Free & Clear, Inc. Announces CMO’s New Role as Head of CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health Free & Clear, Inc., a national leader in behavior change services, announced today that its chief medical officer and founder, Tim McAfee, MD, MPH, will assume the prestigious position of Director of the Office on Smoking and Health (OSH) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Read the full press release (PDF)

12.09.2009	Resolving to Quit Smoking in 2010? Make a Plan Now to Be Tobacco Free Anyone planning to add "quit smoking" or "quit smokeless tobacco" to a 2010 New Year's resolution list should start planning now if he or she wants to be tobacco free on January 1, according to the American Cancer Society and Free & Clear. Read the full press release (PDF)

11.17.2009	Great American Smokeout® Encourages Millions of Smokers to Set Quit Date The American Cancer Society's annual Great American Smokeout encourages smokers to set Thursday, November 19 as their quit date or the day they make a plan to quit for good. Together, the American Cancer Society and Free & Clear have helped more than 1 million tobacco users. Read the full press release (PDF)

10.16.2009	The American Cancer Society and Free & Clear Announce Joint Collaboration to Reduce Tobacco Use The American Cancer Society and Free & Clear today announced a strategic business collaboration that will combine the legendary brand reach of the world’s leading voluntary health organization with the technical strength of the industry leader in tobacco cessation coaching. Read the full press release (PDF)

09.21.2009	Free & Clear, Inc. Announces Decision to become a Wholly Owned Subsidiary of Alere LLC Free & Clear, Inc., a national leader in behavior change services, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to become a wholly owned subsidiary of Alere LLC, an industry leader in specialized health management services including wellness, disease management, oncology and women and children's health. Read the full press release (PDF)

09.02.2009	Adult Smoking Drops Again, Saving Lives and $2.8 Billion in Future Health Care Costs The Washington State Department of Health issued this release, announcing that the state's smoking rate has hit a new low for the sixth consecutive year, thanks to the efforts of anti-tobacco advertising, a collaboration with Medicaid, and the toll-free support of the Washington State Tobacco Quitline, operated by Free & Clear. Washington State is now ranked the sixth lowest smoking prevalence in the nation, but continues efforts to help those who are still struggling with addiction to tobacco. Read the full press release (PDF)

11.18.2008	Telephone Counseling May Improve Effectiveness of Chantix™, According to Free & Clear® Study According to a recent National Cancer Institute-funded study (CA071358), smokers using varenicline (Chantix) who received any telephone counseling were less likely to stop taking their medication than were those with online support only. Read the full press release (PDF)

11.17.2008	Free & Clear® Publishes First Study on an Integrated Phone and Web Tobacco Cessation Program Free & Clear, Inc., the national leader in evidence-based tobacco cessation programs delivered via the phone and internet, has announced the publication of their study on phone and Web-based tobacco use treatment in the Journal of Medical Internet Research. This study is the first ever published on tobacco cessation programs that integrate phone and Web for delivery. Read the full press release (PDF)

11.11.2008	Majority of U.S. Companies Worried About Employee Stress Levels in Current Economy According to a new poll by Free & Clear, a national leader in healthy behavior change, 86 percent of companies are concerned about the level of stress among their employees. Read the full press release (PDF)

09.19.2008	Free & Clear® Launches Next Generation Healthy Living Program to Fight Soaring Rates of Obesity Free & Clear, Inc., a nationally recognized leader in behavior change, today announced the introduction of the Mind & Body™ Program, an evidence-based, comprehensive healthy living program that takes an innovative approach to helping individuals improve their overall health and achieve and maintain a healthy weight for life. Read the full press release (PDF)

09.02.2008	Free & Clear® Announces Partnership with ClearWay Minnesota Free & Clear, Inc., is proud to announce a partnership with ClearWay Minnesota to offer tobacco cessation services to Minnesota residents. Read the full press release (PDF)

08.25.2008	Free & Clear® Increases Number of Washington State Tobacco Users Helped Free & Clear enrolled four percent of Washington smokers in their Quit For Life Program® during the state’s fiscal year July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008, up from 2 percent in fiscal year 2007. Read the full press release (PDF)

06.30.2008	Randomized Trial Shows Full Eight-week Treatment with Nicotine Patches is Cost-effective Press Release on OREO Study Read the full press release (PDF)

06.19.2008	Free & Clear® Study Shows Proactive Communication Strategies Increase Re-enrollment Free & Clear, Inc., has announced the publication of their study of telephone-based tobacco cessation program re-enrollment in the July issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Read the full press release (PDF)

06.09.2008	Free & Clear® Analysis Shows Workplace Smoking-Cessation Incentives Work An analysis on the impact incentive programs have on quit rates reveals employers that use incentives have 50 percent higher quit rates than those without incentive programs Read the full press release (PDF)

06.05.2008	Free & Clear® Data Shows Effectiveness of Chantix™ When Used in Combination with Counseling Free & Clear, Inc., the national leader in evidence-based tobacco cessation programs delivered via the phone and internet, today released an analysis of data from nearly 8000 participants that shows Varenicline, marketed as Chantix, is an effective tool for quitting tobacco when used in conjunction with intensive phone-based behavioral counseling. Read the full press release (PDF)

05.21.2008	Free & Clear® Reports Record Breaking Tobacco Quit Rates Free & Clear, Inc., the national leader in evidence-based tobacco cessation programs delivered via the phone and internet, announced record breaking tobacco quit rates among Quit For Life Program participants during the first quarter of 2008. Read the full press release (PDF)

05.07.2008	New U.S. Public Health Service Tobacco Guidelines Validate Effectiveness of Quitlines The U.S. Public Health Service today released an update to the Clinical Practice Guideline Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence. Updated Guideline findings include validation of the effectiveness of telephone counseling and quitlines, which have been expanding rapidly over the past three years. Read the full press release (PDF)

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