A new medication to help wean tobacco users from their addiction appears to be more effective than existing drugs, especially when combined with strong counseling programs like the Free & Clear® Quit For Life™ Program offered through the State Health Plan. The program is seeing a growing number of smokers ask for the new medication.
The rapid acceptance of the new treatment provides smokers with a powerful new tool to kick the habit on November 16, the annual Great American Smokeout sponsored by the American Cancer Society.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave approval to Chantix to help tobacco users quit. According to the FDA, Chantix acts at sites in the brain affected by nicotine and may help those who wish to give up smoking in two ways: by providing some nicotine effects to ease the withdrawal symptoms and by blocking the effects of nicotine from cigarettes if they resume smoking.
The drug is now available to the estimated 66,000 smokers who are public employees and members of the State Health Plan. They are eligible to receive free tobacco cessation assistance by calling the Quit For Life™ program toll-free 1-866-QUIT-4-LIFE (1-866-784-8454). If a counselor determines that Chantix is right for the patient, the drug may be obtained for a $40 co-payment.
In two studies, patients receiving a 12-week course of Chantix therapy nearly quadrupled the likelihood of quitting than those taking placebo and had nearly twice the likelihood of quitting than those patients taking bupropion (150 mg twice daily), after the 12-week
course of therapy. Enrolled patients were provided with educational materials. Buproprion is a drug initially designed to treat depression but later found to also aide in smoking cessation.
The Free & Clear® Quit For Life™ Program, is a research-based program that has been very successful in helping people to quit tobacco. A Free & Clear Quit Coach works with each participant to create a personalized quit plan. Free nicotine replacement products, such as patches, gum or lozenges, are available through Free & Clear. Participants have access to a toll-free support line from 8 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week.
After five years, it is estimated that smoking cessation coverage will produce $8 in savings for each $1 invested. Those figures don’t include gains from ex-smokers who miss less work or the long-term impact of reduced mortality for people who live longer because they quit smoking. It is estimated that the program will cost the insurance plan $1 million annually.
About Free & Clear
Free & Clear, Inc. is a highly specialized tobacco treatment provider for health plans, employers and government organizations. More than 50 million people have access to the Free & Clear Quit For Life Program, which is the only commercial tobacco treatment program in the United States with proof of effectiveness published in multiple peer reviewed, scientific journals over the course of nearly 20 years. Free & Clear is based in Seattle, Washington. More information about Free & Clear can be found at www.freeclear.com.
Note to Editors: We can provide you with experts in tobacco cessation treatment and South Carolinians who have quit smoking this year using the Free & Clear program.