Sen. Harp Hails Budget Provision for 'NRT' to Help Smokers Quit and Stay Stopped
For Immediate Release
Date: 7/12/07
Contact: Laurence C. Grotheer, 860-240-8820
Hartford, Conn. -State Senator Toni N. Harp (D-New Haven) wants all Connecticut smokers to know additional help has arrived through the state’s QuitLine. Effective immediately, the state-funded program has been expanded to provide nicotine replacement therapy, known as NRT, at no cost to smokers who want to quit.
Senator Harp said the state Department of Public Health (DPH) will now provide free NRT to all Connecticut residents who want to quit using tobacco. The program will provide up to two months of nicotine patches and gum to tobacco users who register for cessation services at 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669), Connecticut’s free tobacco help line. The use of NRT further increases the likelihood that an individual will quit successfully. NRT has been shown to increase quit outcomes two-fold in numerous randomized controlled trials. Free NRT will be available while supplies last and will be provided on a first come, first served basis.
“We know with certainty about the physiological part of cigarette addiction and we know with certainty that NRT is the most effective strategy to help smokers wean themselves of that dependency,” Senator Harp said. “The vast majority of smokers say they want to quit, but the strength of their addiction and the cost of NRT often prove too much to overcome, so it’s important for their health we moved forward with our plan to sponsor this proven NRT program.”
“It’s also a sound investment we can make now to help reduce the ominous future healthcare costs we face caring for smokers and the consequences of their addiction,” Senator Harp added.
Senator Harp explained how this $1.5 million appropriation is a portion of the state’s $5.5 million comprehensive cancer control plan. She praised the Connecticut Cancer Partnership, which crafted the plan, and singled out the contributions made by Jerold Mande, MPH, a member of the partnership who is Associate Director for Public Policy at the Yale Cancer Center at the Yale School of Medicine.
“Connecticut has emerged as a national leader for its efforts to reduce tobacco use and those efforts are already paying off because just 16.5% of adults in the state smoke – the nation’s third-lowest adult smoking rate,” Mande said. “But of course there’s much more work to be done, and this program to underwrite NRT for eligible residents is a critical step in the right direction, as is the legislature’s decision to raise the state’s cigarette sales tax, another proven deterrent.”
The Connecticut QuitLine is available between 8 a.m. and midnight seven days a week. It offers a variety of services including information about tobacco use cessation, telephone coaching sessions, referrals to local programs, and follow-up support.