Monday, April 28, 2014

See you in CA

I want to let you know that my poster abstract has been selected for presentation at the 13th Annual IHA Health Literacy Conference, “Operational Solutions to Low Health Literacy: At the Intersection of the Affordable Care Act and Health Literacy.”

I’m presenting on Thursday evening, May 8, at the Hotel Irvine-Jamboree Center in Irvine, California. If you’re interested in attending the conference and seeing my poster, follow this link to register now. Thanks for your support!

Monday, April 14, 2014

How SAMHSA Embraced Smoking Cessation


We’re excited to announce the publication of “From the Sidelines to the Frontline: How the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Embraced Smoking Cessation” in the current issue of the American Journal of Public Health.

Written by Dr. Lekshmi Santhosh, UCSF medical resident; Doug Tipperman, SAMHSA Public Health Advisor; Dr. Steve Schroeder, SCLC director; and several SCLC staff members, the article describes the unique academic-public partnership between SCLC and SAMHSA, and the implementation and results of the Leadership Academies.


Additional resources
·         SCLC webinar, “8 and Counting: SAMHSA State Academies for Smoking Cessation Foster Change,” featuring representatives from each Leadership Academy state
·         http://nctobaccosummit.net – North Carolina’s Leadership Academy website
·         http://msleadership.org  – Mississippi’s Leadership Academy website
·         Article on the Performance Partnership Model used in the Leadership Academies
·         SAMHSA website


Gil Lorenzo
Marketing and Outreach Manager
Smoking Cessation Leadership Center
(415) 502-2148




Uneven progress in expanding state Medicaid coverage for smoking cessation

States make gradual progress, but few provide comprehensive coverage More smokers would quit if state Medicaid programs covered more cessation treatments and removed barriers to coverage, according to a CDC study published in today’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. All 50
states and the District of Columbia cover cessation treatments for at least some Medicaid enrollees.

Efforts to expand state Medicaid coverage for all smoking cessation treatments and the removal of coverage barriers have shown mixed progress over the past five years.

Americans enrolled in Medicaid are more likely to smoke than the general population, and smoking-related disease is a major contributor to increasing Medicaid costs. Insurance coverage of proven cessation treatments leads to more smokers using the treatments and successfully quitting smoking. A recent study from the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that more comprehensive state Medicaid coverage was associated with increased quit rates among smokers enrolled in Medicaid.
Seven states cover all approved medications and in-person counseling cessation treatments for all Medicaid recipients. All states have some barriers to getting these treatments. The most common barriers are limits on how long treatment is covered and how much is covered per year; prior authorization requirements; and copayments.

“States can save lives and reduce costs by providing Medicaid coverage for all proven cessation treatments, removing barriers to accessing these treatments, and promoting the expanded coverage,” said Tim McAfee, M.D., M.P.H., Director of the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health. “Reducing the number of smokers will save lives and reduce health care costs.”

The study compares 2008 with 2014 data and found that 41 states made changes to the treatments they covered for at least some plans or populations. Nineteen states added treatments to coverage without removing any treatments from coverage and eight states removed treatments from coverage without adding any treatments to coverage. Fourteen states both added and removed coverage.
During this same period, 38 states made changes to barriers to accessing treatments for at least some plans or populations. Nine states removed barriers without adding new barriers, 12 states added new barriers without removing existing ones, and 17 states both removed and added barriers.

“There’s evidence suggesting that smokers enrolled in Medicaid, like other smokers, want to quit and will take advantage of covered cessation treatments to help them quit for good,” said Stephen Babb, M.P.H., co-author of the article.

Some of the strongest evidence comes from Massachusetts, which expanded its Medicaid cessation coverage in 2006.

“Massachusetts heavily promoted its new Medicaid cessation coverage to Medicaid enrollees and health care providers, and saw a drop in the smoking rate among Medicaid enrollees from 38 percent to 28 percent,” said Babb. There was also an almost 50 percent drop in hospital admissions for heart attacks among those who used the benefit. It is important that all smokers who want help quitting, including smokers enrolled in Medicaid, have access to proven cessation treatments and services.”

Fifty years after the first Surgeon General’s Report linking cigarette smoking to lung cancer, smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the United States, killing nearly half a million Americans every year. More than 16 million Americans live with a smoking-related disease. Smoking-related diseases cost Americans $132 billion a year in direct health care expenses, much of which comes in taxpayer-supported payments. The most recent Surgeon General’s Report, released in January 2014, recommends providing barrier-free access to proven cessation treatments, and expanding cessation services for all smokers in primary and specialty care settings.

Through the Affordable Care Act, more Americans will qualify to get health care coverage that fits their needs and budget, including important preventive services such as certain services to quit smoking that may be covered with no additional costs. Visit Healthcare.gov or call 1-800-318-2596 (TTY/TDD 1-855-889-4325) to learn more.
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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services CDC works 24/7 saving lives, protecting people from health threats, and saving money through prevention. Whether these threats are global or domestic, chronic or acute, curable or preventable, natural disaster or deliberate attack, CDC is the
nation’s health protection agency.

State Medicaid Coverage for Tobacco Cessation

State Medicaid Coverage for Tobacco Cessation Treatments and Barriers to Coverage
—United States, 2008–2014

MMWR Introduction Medicaid enrollees have a higher smoking prevalence than the general population, and smoking-related disease is a major contributor to increasing Medicaid costs. The evidence suggests that states could reduce smoking-related morbidity, mortality, and health care costs among Medicaid enrollees by providing Medicaid coverage for all evidence-based cessation treatments, removing all barriers to access these treatments, promoting cessation coverage, and monitoring treatment use.

To monitor trends in state Medicaid cessation coverage, the American Lung Association collected data on coverage of evidence-based cessation methods for nine treatments, except telephone counseling, by state Medicaid programs, as well as data on barriers to access these treatments from December 31, 2008 to January 31, 2014. As of 2014, all 50 states and the District of Columbia offer cessation treatments for at least some Medicaid enrollees. Common barriers in 2014 included duration limits, prior authorization, annual limits, and co-payments.

Insurance coverage of evidence-based cessation treatments leads to increases in quit attempts, use of cessation treatments, and successful smoking cessation. Provisions in coverage such as co-payments, prior authorization, and limitations on the number and duration of treatments pose barriers for people to access cessation treatments and reduce treatment use and cessation rates. These provisions are commonly used by private and public health insurers, often to limit use of benefits because of overuse and cost concerns, but removing these barriers increases use of these treatments and cessation rates.

MMWR Highlights
Trends in Medicaid Coverage of Smoking Cessation Treatments
 During 2008–2014, 41 states made changes to the treatments they covered for at least some plans or populations.
 During 2008-2014, 33 states added treatments to coverage while 21 states removed treatments from coverage.
 During 2008-2014, 19 states added treatments to coverage without removed any treatments from coverage.
 During 2008–2014, eight states removed treatments for coverage without adding any treatments for coverage.
 During 2008–2014, 14 states both added and removed coverage of treatments.

Trends in Barriers to Medicaid Coverage of Smoking Cessation Treatments
 During 2008–2014, 38 states made changes to treatment barriers and access for at least some plans or populations.
 During 2008–2014, nine states removed barriers without adding new barriers.
 During 2008–2014, 12 states added barriers without removing existing ones.
 During 2008–2014, 17 states both removed and added access to treatments for at least some plans or populations.

CDC data show increase in e-cigarette-related calls to poison centers



The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today released data that show calls to poison centers involving e-cigarettes rose from one per month in September 2010 to 215 per month in February 2014.  The study, Calls to Poison Centers for Exposures to Electronic Cigarettes – United States, September 2010-February 2014, published in today’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), used data from the poison centers in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. Territories—compared total monthly calls involving e-cigarettes with those involving conventional cigarettes.
Other key findings include:

  • Poison centers reported 2,405 e-cigarette and 16,248 cigarette exposure calls from September 2010 to February 2014.
  • E-cigarette calls as a proportion of total calls involving e-cigarettes and cigarettes rose dramatically – jumping from 0.3% in September 2010 to 41.7% in February 2014. 
  • E-cigarette calls were more likely than cigarette calls to report an adverse health effect following exposure. The most common adverse health effects mentioned in e-cigarette calls were vomiting, nausea, and eye irritation.
  • 51.1% of e-cigarette-related poisonings were among young children 0-5 years, while 42% of the poison calls involved adults age 20 and older.
  • Poisoning from conventional cigarettes is generally due to young children eating them. Poisoning from e-cigarettes involves the liquid containing nicotine used in the device and can occur three ways: by ingestion, inhalation or absorption through the skin or eyes.

The total number of poisoning cases is likely higher than reflected in this study, because all exposures may not have been reported to poison centers. E-cigarette experimentation has rapidly increased in recent years. A previous CDC study found that e-cigarette experimentation doubled among middle and high school students between 2011 and 2012, with nearly 2 million youth trying the products in 2012.

Health-care providers; the public health community; e-cigarette manufacturers, distributors, sellers, and marketers; and the public should be aware that e-cigarettes have the potential to cause acute adverse health effects and represent an emerging public health concern.

For information about CDC’s poison surveillance efforts, please visit cdc.gov/nceh/ehhe/ or contact Jane Bigham at JBigham@cdc.gov. For information about CDC’s tobacco prevention efforts, please visit www.cdc.gov/tobacco or contact Jennifer Greaser at JGreaser@cdc.gov.
 

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Cessation Materials for Low Literacy Audiences

Looking for materials for low literacy audiences?


California Smokers’ Helpline website at www.nobutts.org for educational materials that may serve your audience.  Click on link for fact sheets.  The Tobacco Education Clearinghouse of California (TECC) has extensive resources on cessation as well.  www.tobaccofreecatalog.org

Decide Guide http://www.nobutts.org/Information/dg_contents.shtml

E-cigarettes: Challenges for Clinicians Webinar



The Smoking Cessation Leadership Center (SCLC) and the Association for the Treatment of Tobacco Use and Dependence (ATTUD) are pleased to invite you to their next free webinar,        “E-cigarettes: Challenges for Clinicians”, on April 23, 2014 at 1:00pm Eastern Time/ 10:00am Pacific Time (90 minutes).

We are honored to have Pamela M. Ling, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California at San Francisco (UCSF), and Jonathan Foulds, PhD, Professor of Public Health Sciences and Psychiatry, at Penn State University, College of Medicine, presenting on this topic for us.

Webinar Objectives
·         Describe the various types and components of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes)
·         Describe the current evidence for the clinical use of e-cigarettes among tobacco users
·         Understand the potential clinical and health risks and benefits of e-cigarette use
·         Respond to clinical inquiries regarding e-cigarettes from patients and colleagues

REGISTER HERE:    https://cc.readytalk.com/r/lvng84jbetcj&eom