NEW ORLEANS – Now in the fourth year of its 10-year program, the Smoking Cessation Trust crossed a major milestone this week by exceeding 50,000 applicants (50,014, as of March 21), who have made the commitment to do one of the hardest things they will probably ever do in their lives—quit smoking.
According to the 2015 America’s Health Rankings® Report from the United Health Foundation, Louisiana presently ranks 46 out of 50 states for tobacco use, with nearly a quarter of the state’s residents smoking. The Trust, which has members in every parish of the state, is working towards its goal of helping 210,000 Louisianans become smoke-free by 2022.
The Smoking Cessation Trust, which began in 2012, is the result of a court judgment in a 14-year-old class action lawsuit entitled Scott v. American Tobacco Company. The judgment became final in 2011 and ordered certain tobacco companies to fund a statewide, 10-year smoking cessation program to benefit more than 200,000 Louisiana smokers who are members of the plaintiff class (the "Scott Class"). The recipient of the award was a court-established and court-supervised smoking cessation program to benefit all Louisiana residents who smoked a cigarette before September 1, 1988.
Applicants who register for the smoking cessation program and are approved (usually in one day) as qualified recipients will be eligible to receive any of the following cessation services completely free: cessation medications (such as Zyban® and Chantix®), nicotine replacement therapy (gum, patch, lozenge, inhaler, nasal spray), individual/ group cessation counseling, telephone quit-line support, and/or intensive cessation support services. By using these services, evidence suggests that participants will increase the success rate of attempts to stop smoking, and may successfully quit for good.
“As cigarette taxes increase and smokefree ordinances continue to go into effect across Louisiana, we are seeing more people take advantage of the free resources available through the Smoking Cessation Trust to help them give up cigarettes,” said Mike Rogers, CEO, Smoking Cessation Trust Management Services. “They are also beginning to realize that the benefits of quitting are now both physical and financial, as the treatment available through the Trust helps restore smokers’ health and can save them close to $2,000 dollars annually.”
Through observances like the recent Kick Butts Day on March 16 and other annual smoking observances and events, and in addition to its work with statewide health care providers and hospital systems, the Trust continues to share its message with Louisiana smokers that applying now to be an approved Trust Member is one of the best free things they can do for themselves and their loved ones.
