Half of adults who smoke report being motivated to quit because their health care provider recommended it.1
You can assist your patients who smoke with a combination of evidence-based brief counseling and pharmacotherapy interventions that can significantly increase their ability to quit for good.2
The Public Health Service Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence – Quick Reference Guide for Clinicians summarizes strategies and recommendations for providing appropriate and effective treatment for every patient who uses tobacco.
Patients may ask you about using electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) for smoking cessation. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has concluded that the current evidence is insufficient to recommend e-cigarettes for tobacco cessation in adults, including pregnant women. USPSTF recommends clinicians provide patients who smoke tobacco with the established safe and effective cessation interventions of counseling and FDA-approved medications covered in the Public Health Service Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence – Quick Reference Guide for Clinicians.
New York State Medicaid covers individual and group cessation counseling and all seven cessation products approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for all Medicaid fee-for-service and managed care members.
For more information on NYS Medicaid, see Medicaid Updates:
Medicare and other health plans cover evidence-based tobacco cessation counseling. Check with individual plans to for coverage of FDA-approved tobacco cessation medications.