GEORGIA FALLS SHORT IN HELPING SMOKERS QUIT

(November 12, 2010)—

Contact:  June Deen, jdeen@lungga.org /(770) 544-0520

(Atlanta, GA)—In its new report, “Helping Smokers Quit: State Cessation Coverage 2010,”the American Lung Association finds that many Americans will get needed help to quit smoking with newly enacted health care reforms. However, millions of other smokers still cannot easily get treatments to help them quit.

“Georgia is one of only five states that provides no cessation coverage for state employees,” said June Deen, state director for the Lung Association in Georgia.  “And, Georgia is one of only five states that does not aid Medicaid recipients wishing to quit smoking, other than to provide the newly required cessation benefit for pregnant women. Quitting smoking has been shown to be the most important step a smoker can take to improve the length and quality of his or her life. We are missing out on a huge potential savings in lives and money with the policies in place.”

 “Helping Smokers Quit: State Cessation Coverage 2010” provides an overview of cessation services and treatments offered in each state by public and private health care plans and the impact of the federal health care law. Parts of the health care reform law have taken effect in 2010, and states already are making changes to their public and private health care systems as they implement the law.

 This report comes on the heels of a Lung Association survey in Georgia and South Carolina that focused on smoking cessation coverage offered by employers.  The study found that nearly a third (29 percent) of large employers offer smoking cessation health benefits to their employees.  Nearly half of the businesses with more than 2,000 employees offer this benefit.

A national Lung Association report, “Smoking Cessation: The Economic Benefits” found that helping smokers quit not only saves lives but also offers favorable economic benefits to states.  For every dollar spent by the State of Georgia to help state workers, quit line callers and Medicaid recipients quit smoking, the potential return equaled $1.28.

“While private sector employers are realizing the monetary and quality-of-life benefits of offering smoking cessation coverage, the state of Georgia is missing the boat.  During this difficult time in this fiscal environment, state leaders should take these findings and move in a direction that protects lives and saves money.” said Deen.

Providing comprehensive coverage means ensuring access to seven medications and three types of counseling recommended by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to treat tobacco use and nicotine dependence. Nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs) are available over the counter (patch, gum, lozenge) and by prescription (patch, nasal spray, inhaler), and there are two non-nicotine, prescription-only medications, called bupropion and varenicline. Recommended types of counseling include individual (face-to-face), group and phone. 

The annual report identifies several states that made important advances in 2010:

• Kentucky, a tobacco-producing state, approved funding to help Medicaid recipients quit smoking through coverage of some tobacco cessation treatments.
• Hawaii required managed-care organizations that contract with its Medicaid program to provide near-comprehensive coverage of cessation treatments.
• And Montana, Nebraska, and Florida began providing quit-smoking benefits for state employees after having offered no help in the past to those who wanted to stop.

More states need to follow these examples, the American Lung Association report says. Helping smokers quit must become a higher priority in this country. No one can afford the economic and health consequences of failing to do so. The “Helping Smokers Quit: State Cessation Coverage 2010” report is available at www.LungUSA.org.

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