“We have made great strides in Arkansas tobacco control this year,” said Dr. Paul Halverson, director and state officer of the Arkansas Department of Health.  “From the passage of the state and federal tobacco tax increase to the expanded quitting services offered by a new Quitline vendor, we are glad to see Arkansans taking advantage of the reasons and resources to help them quit tobacco.”

The Arkansas Tobacco Quitline, which can be reached by calling 1-800-QUIT-NOW, began operation under Free & Clear, Inc. in October 2008.  The Quitline offers one-on-one counseling with a Quit Coach® by phone or online to help participants take responsibility for and overcome their addiction to tobacco use.  A Quit Coach is professionally trained to help tobacco users prepare to quit, choose a quit day, change their routines, cope with withdrawl, and fight slips and relapses.

The Quitline also provides free nicotine-replacement therapy medications such as patches and lozenges (while supplies last).  Recently, the Quitline began offering counseling services for 16- and 17-year-old tobacco users.  However, tobacco users must be 18 or older to qualify for the free medications.  The Quitline offers specialized programs for pregnant women who want to quit, as well as a fax referral program that allows doctors to connect their patients to the Quitline.

ADH’s Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Program funds the Arkansas Tobacco Quitline through Tobacco Settlement Proceeds.  Services are available seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. in English, Spanish, Marshallese and more than 160 other languages.  For more information, call 1-800-QUIT-NOW or visit stampoutsmoking.com.

“From the beginning, Arkansas has pledged its tobacco-settlement funds strictly to health programs, and these are the benefits of that investment,” Governor Mike Beebe said. “Continuing this trend can help curb the spiraling costs of health care for Arkansans.”

A new study shows that there were 84,000 fewer smokers in Arkansas in 2007 than if smoking rates in 2002 had continued unchanged to 2007. Since 2002 the percentage of adults in Arkansas who smoke decreased from 26.3 percent to 22.4 percent in 2007.

“What this tells us is that our programs are all working together to bring rates of tobacco use down,” said Paul K. Halverson, DrPH, FACHE, State Health Officer and Director of the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH). “The drop in the adult rate is very encouraging, because it is most difficult to change that rate. Evidence has shown that only a comprehensive approach to tobacco control can do that.”

A smaller number of adult smokers is already translating into a significant reduction in hospitalization rates for heart disease, stroke, emphysema and bronchitis, according to a study on hospitalization costs done by ADH. Using hospitalization charges for these conditions, the bottom line savings amounts to $22 million dollars in 2006 alone.

“It’s important to note that these projections apply to only one year, but we are really contemplating a lifetime of savings, and in fact, lives saved for many years to come,” said Joe Bates, MD, Deputy State Health Officer and Chief Science Officer. “As we continue to reduce the numbers of young people who never start smoking, the financial impact on our state is very, very positive.”

The news is even better for reductions in youth smoking. Since 2001 the rate of current cigarette smoking has dropped from 34.7 percent to 20.7 percent in 2007 among Arkansas high school students, according to the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey (YRBSS).

Dr. Joe Thompson, Director of the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement and Arkansas’s Surgeon General said, “This is encouraging news and we’re definitely headed in the right direction, but tobacco use continues to place too great a burden on our state.” According to Thompson, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that smoking-caused health costs and productivity losses total $10.28 per pack sold. In Arkansas, that amounts to more than $2 billion a year.

Dr. Paul Halverson said, “Evidence points to the fact that all the different intervention programs must be in place for the best outcomes. Combined cessation and prevention programs are the key to our continued success.”

For more information on how the Arkansas Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Program works to reduce tobacco use in Arkansas, visit the website at: www.stampoutsmoking.com .