Cigarette Tax Increase Effective Sunday; Many Resources Available To Help Smokers Quit | Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky
Nicotine is a highly addictive drug, perhaps as addictive as heroin, cocaine or alcohol. Most smokers become addicted to nicotine, which is found naturally in tobacco.i
Tobacco companies intentionally manipulated the nicotine levels in tobacco products, making them more addictive. ii
Kentucky state law iii now requires private health insurance companies and Medicaid/Managed Care Organizations to cover the cost of smoking cessation medication and programs that are approved by the Food and Drug Administration. This coverage includes nicotine replacement therapies, such as gums and patches, that reduce withdrawal feelings and cigarette cravings. Ask your doctor about these therapies.
Kentucky’s Quitline program iv , Quit Now Kentucky, offers three different programs – a phone only program, an online only program and a combined phone and online program – to help deal the issues that make quitting hard. Participants can choose what parts of the program will work for them. Many can access the program and nicotine replacement therapies free of cost. Visit www.quitnowkentucky.org or call 1-800-QUIT-NOW to learn more.