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NTCC Priorities

• 1. Increase consumer demand for evidence-based tobacco cessation treatments and services
• 2. Link tobacco control public policy changes to increase cessation and treatment use and demand
• 3. Promote the inclusion and use of tobacco control and cessation content in electronic health records (EHRs)
• 4. Increase national, state and local longitudinal surveillance of tobacco-use cessation, including quitting motivation and behaviors, treatment beliefs and use, services, and policies
• 5. Expand access to proven, effective treatments for tobacco addiction
• 6. Support an expanded research agenda to achieve advances in the reach, effectiveness and adoption of tobacco cessation interventions across both individuals and populations
• 7. Launch an ongoing, extensive, national paid media campaign on cessation to help Americans quit using tobacco
• 8. Support the increase in the federal and state excise tax on tobacco to expand assistance for tobacco users who want to quit
• 9. Build capacity for quitlines in order to provide universal access to evidence-based counseling and medications for tobacco cessation

National Priority #2

Link tobacco control public policy changes to increase cessation and treatment use and demand

Along with effective cessation media campaigns and treatment promotions, the Guide to Community Preventive Services recommends two tobacco control policy interventions that increase cessation and treatment use and demand at the population level. They are increasing tobacco prices/taxes and reducing out-of-pocket cessation treatment costs through coverage expansions. In addition, there is growing evidence that smoking bans and restrictions may increase quit attempts, quitting and treatment use. Pairing these public health policy changes with efforts to improve treatment access holds great promise for major breakthroughs in treatment use and quit rates.

NTCC Activities for 2009-2010

Although a fair amount of work has been done related to the priority in past year, including the recent TFK webinar on the tax increase, and the policy playbooks, there are still more ways for NTCC to help link tobacco control public policy changes to increase cessation and treatment use and demand.

• Further strengthen and promote goingsmokefree.org; add a module, include NAQC materials, TFK webinar materials; expand partnerships to promote
• Support states conducting additional surveillance before and after policy changes, to measure quit attempts, use of treatments, etc. Add a template of questions to goingsmokefree.org for states to include in their existing surveys to consistent data across states
• Identifying and promote a "response team" for states to call peers in other states or experts to ask questions regarding policy changes

Partner Activities

NTCC partners are currently conducting many activities related to this priority. For a list of these NTCC partner activities, click here.

Other NTCC Activities

• Promote the NCI smoke-free jurisdictions list.
• Develop materials to support the NAQC and RWJF/TFK policy playbooks, and create a way to house all of these materials in one place online as an extension of the NTCC website.
• Identify opportunities to promote the link between policy and cessation to others, including states and major national players.
• Conduct outreach to states/localities as they implement smoke-free and other policies.

Policy Related Resources

General Resources

Coverage/Reimbursement

Tobacco Taxes

Smoking Bans