Remove the barriers from tobacco cessation

Do we pay now, or do we pay a lot more later? The reason for my question revolves around Georgia’s opportunity to provide tobacco cessation benefits to state employees, a necessary health service Georgia does not currently offer.

According to the Georgia Division of Public Health, more than 10,000 Georgians die of tobacco-related illnesses every year. And, when you consider the emotional and physical pain associated with those diseases and deaths, not to mention the more than $1.8 billion price tag paid by Georgia taxpayers to tend to the sick, the simple argument for state-sponsored tobacco cessation becomes not only easy to understand, but compelling.

In Floyd County, the community that I live and work in as a family physician, we have the highest tobacco use rate in the entire state of Georgia. According to the 2008 Northwest Georgia Public Health Report, smokers alone accounted for 27.6 percent of the Floyd County population from 2004-2006. My partnership with my patients includes my recommendations to adopt healthier lifestyles: drink less alcohol, eat healthier foods, lose weight and if they use tobacco, stop. But if you ask most tobacco users who have tried to quit, they will likely tell you it is among the hardest things, if not the hardest thing, they have ever attempted.

Here’s one reason why: Physicians will confirm and study after study shows that nicotine, the addictive substance in cigarettes and other tobacco products, is actually more addictive than heroin. This helps explain why quitting is so difficult for so many tobacco users. It used to be that we, as doctors, had no way to help our patients stop using tobacco. The only advice we could offer them was to “hang in there.” Today, we can offer them so much more, including counseling and medication to help them stop their tobacco use.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of disease and premature death in the United States, and it recommends that health plans do the following:

> Cover at least four counseling sessions of at least 30 minutes each, including telephone and individual counseling sessions.

> Cover both prescription medication and over-the-counter nicotine replacement treatments.

> Provide counseling and medication coverage for at least two tobacco cessation attempts per year.

> Eliminate or minimize co-pays or deductibles for counseling and medications.

It is my hope that our state leaders will actually act and take the leadership role our state needs in providing better health for state workers, sending a clear message to all Georgia businesses that they should follow suit.

For too long, we’ve only treated people when they are sick or after they develop costly, debilitating chronic conditions caused by tobacco. Let’s stop that trend, save money and ultimately save lives.

> Dr. Saria Carter Saccocio, a tobacco cessation expert, practices in Rome.