[ad_1]
March 30, 2021
5 min read
Source / Disclosures
Source:
Disclosures: Infographic: Model # 15 / Title: In a new report from the North American Quitline Consortium: / There has been a 27% drop in requests for smoking cessation services during the COVID-19 pandemic (focus on a 27% drop) Healio was unable to confirm relevant financial information at the time of publication.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, demands for smoking cessation services declined by 27%, according to new data from the North American Quitline Consortium.
The decrease in requests for assistance with quitting smoking correlates with the increase in cigarette consumption reported by the U.S. Treasury Department, a marked change from years of steady decline, according to a press release from the North American Quitline Consortium.
“COVID-19 has rebalanced the progress we have made on smoking cessation, but we know we can reverse this trend and start making progress again in 2021 if we ensure that we make people aware of the risk and educate them about the services at help them ”, Linda Bailey, JD, MHS, president and chief executive officer of the North American Quitline Consortium, said at a press conference.
Decrease in requests to quit smoking
According to the CDC, smoking rates in the United States have increased from 42% in 1965 to 25% in 1997 and 14% in 2019. However, current smoking rates show that cigarette sales have increased by 1% in the United States. during the first 10 months of 2020 after decreasing by 4% to 5% per year since 2015, according to the release.
“US Surgeon General Has Conclusive Link Between Smoking And Suppression Of The Immune System, ” Anne DiGiulio, national director of lung health policy at the American Lung Association, said during the briefing. “According to the CDC, smoking increases the risk of illness from the virus that causes COVID-19. In light of this, quitting smoking has never been more important. “
The North American Quitline Consortium report examined data calls made to quit lines through 1-800-QUIT-NOW from 53 U.S. states and territories in the United States.
Since 2012, calls to resignation lines have ranged from around 700,000 to over 900,000 per year. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, demands for smoking cessation services were drastically reduced to 525,609 calls in 2020, a 27% drop from 2019, according to the report.
In addition, in 2020, there was a 6% decrease in quit smoking calls from January to March, a 39% decrease from April to June, a 30% decrease from July to September and a decrease in 21% from October to December.
Throughout 2020, 20 US states reported broadcasting messages about quitting smoking during the pandemic. In those states, empathetic messages, messages aimed at helping and encouraging smoking cessation instead of blame, and messages describing the availability of smoking cessation services were most well received, according to the report.
“The decline in smoking rates has been uneven in American society,” Mast piercethe program manager at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation said during the briefing. “Targeted marketing, the continued sale of menthol cigarettes and other flavored tobacco products, and unequal access to cessation services are among the barriers that have made commercial tobacco products disproportionately harm low-income people. and less educated, those who identify as lesbian, gay and bisexual. and / or transgender, many communities of color, and people with mental illness and substance use disorders. “
Impact of smoking and mental health
COVID-19 pandemic has increased rates of stress and anxiety for many, including those who smoke.
“We believe that … stress and anxiety have also contributed to the decrease in the number of people seeking help to quit smoking., ” Bailey said.
According to at Catherine Saucedo, Deputy Director of the Smoking Cessation Leadership Center at the University of California, San Francisco, although most smokers are aware of the additional risks with COVID-19 and smoking and most say they want to quit or reduce their tobacco use, about a third of smokers have increased their tobacco use in the last year due to higher stress levels related to the pandemic. The increase in smoking linked to COVID-19 and the decline in access to smoking cessation has an intense and immediate effect because smoking cessation can worsen depression and anxiety, which can also complicate the recovery of other mental health and substance abuse disorders, she says.
“The pandemic has taken the big basket of anxiety, depression and addiction that we have in the United States and, for smokers, put that basket on steroids.Saucedo said in the statement. “Even though smoking has been shown to make all of these bad things worse, people have stopped trying to quit. We must regain the momentum we had and, once again, save lives. We know how to do this. “
What’s more, in a CDC survey conducted in the summer of 2020, about 2 in 5 Americans report significant mental health symptoms.
“We have had more people reaching out to the helpline, more people looking for support, more people engaging with us than ever before because there is so much recognition of the rising rates. ‘anxiety, depression, isolation and for people with serious illnesses, difficulty accessing in-person services, ”said Ken Duckworth, MD, Chief Medical Officer of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, during the briefing.
Strategies to improve access
Increased access to smoking cessation services has been important during the pandemic, speakers said.
“The COVID-19 pandemic underscores the importance of quitting smoking and ensuring smokers have access to proven treatments to quit smoking,” said DiGiulio. “The decrease in stop-line calls last year is a worrying development and we are working with our partners to help understand and reverse this trend.”
Steps have been taken to overcome the challenges and obstacles posed by COVID-19 pandemic. Pierce pointed out several policy changes that the American Lung Association supported help smokers quit during the pandemic and help them overcome some of the unique challenges posed by the pandemic. reue to many non-urgent medical appointments canceled during the pandemic, the expansion of telehealth enables patients to access medical appointments, including smoking–cessation advice and treatment. Also, some U.S. states have lifted telehealth restrictions for Medicaid and private insurance. reDue to overwhelming job losses during the pandemic, many states have reopened open registrations for state scholarships for unemployed people without insurance. Finally, President Biden law signed to extend premium tax credits for more affordable health insurance coverage. In addition, some states have expanded Medicaid programs to provide smoking cessation benefits to low-income residents, which the American Lung Association encourages other states to do the same providing health care to the 2.2 million people in the coverage gap, he said. It is notable, as the data showss that uninsured people have a more … than double smoking rate compared to private policyholders, he said.
To tackle the issue of mental health and smoking, the Smoking Cessation Leadership Center created “I COVID TO LEAVE,” published end of March, a social media campaign of former smokers telling their own quitting stories to promote the benefits of quitting to improve both an individual‘s physical and mental health.
More, “due to COVID-19, the American Society of Addiction Medicine continues to advocate for bold structural changes that strengthen our ability to build a steady workforce of clinicians who can help prevent and treat disorders related to substance use., ” Brian Hurley, MD, director of the board of directors of the American Society of Addiction Medicine and new president-elect, said during the briefing. “We support the standardization of the provision of individual addiction care, especially with regard to smoking cessation, and to provide consistent and adequate health insurance coverage for people with substance use disorders. , in particular smoking-related disorders, and to provide appropriate reimbursement to clinicians treating them. “
References:
Press release.
North American Quitline Consortium report.
COVID-19 Resource Center
Source link
