Dr. Thomas Houston, Medical Director of The Breathing Association’s Lung Health Clinic and as Tobacco Cessation Training Course, has announced his retirement.
Dr. Houston has an impressive bio as a graduate of the University of Mississippi School of Medicine. After a 10-year career in academic family medicine, he directed the American Medical Association’s tobacco control and public health advocacy programs. From 2003 to 2005, he held the Jim Finks Chair in Health Promotion at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans and was Professor of Public Health and Family Medicine. From 2005 to 2016, he worked at the McConnell Heart Health Center in Columbus, where he directed tobacco cessation and policy initiatives for OhioHealth. He was a former president of the Ohio Academy of Family Physicians, and he is currently Adjunct Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at The Ohio State University.
As impressive as his bio is, it does not signify just how much of his life has been donated to helping those around become better people. He has spoken up for those who could not speak for themselves as an advocate of tobacco cessation, and he implemented the Tobacco Treatment Specialist Program for The Breathing Association to help medical professionals, counselors, and therapists educate others in becoming tobacco free.
Dr. Houston has served as a board member and Medical Director of the Lung Health Clinic since 2008. The Breathing Association is a richer organization thanks to Dr. Houston’s service over the past 15 years. He has left a legacy that time cannot diminish.