B.C. rolls out program to help smokers quit
By Contributor
Nicotine replacement therapies will now be available at no cost and smoking cessation prescription drugs will be covered under PharmaCare.
By calling HealthLink BC at 8-1-1 and registering for the smoking cessation program, B.C. smokers who are covered by MSP and who wish to quit will be able to receive free nicotine gum or patches either by mail or at their local community pharmacy once they receive a reference number from HealthLink BC.
As part of this program, varenicline (Champix) and bupropion (Zyban) will also be covered by B.C. PharmaCare beginning Sept. 30 and will be available with a prescription.
People will need to see their doctor for a prescription and be registered in a PharmaCare plan to receive coverage for these products. The level of coverage will depend on a person’s PharmaCare plan.
Eligible B.C. residents can receive a single continuous course of treatment lasting up to 12 consecutive weeks with either a prescription smoking cessation drug or an NRT product once every calendar year.
The estimated cost of the program is an estimated $15 million to $25 million depending on the number of individuals who use the program.
Smokers are encouraged to visit www.health.gov.bc.ca/pharmacare/stop-smoking/ and www.quitnow.ca to plan their quit first. The B.C. smoking cessation program will be available to smokers anytime after Sept. 30, so smokers can choose to register whenever they are really ready to quit.
The cost to the B.C. economy is approximately $2.3 billion annually, including $605 million for direct health-care costs.
While B.C. has the lowest smoking rate in Canada at 14.3 per cent, there are approximately 550,000 British Columbians who smoke. An estimated 70 per cent of smokers in B.C. want to quit.
QuitNow Services offers British Columbian smokers help to quit smoking 24 hours a day – www.quitnow.ca. Services include an online quit community with professional and peer support, email or text message services and a telephone quitline – now available by calling 8-1-1 – with information available in 130 languages.
Providing free support for smokers to quit tobacco supports the province’s Healthy Families BC strategy, which aims to better support the health of families and communities by helping to make the healthier choice the easier choice. For more information on Healthy Families BC, visit www.healthyfamiliesbc.ca.
