CDC: Number of American adults attempting to quit cigarettes stalls.
+ Regulatory
Kim Sunderland | Oct 21, 2015

CDC: Number of American adults attempting to quit cigarettes stalls

Attempts to quit using cigarettes by adults in the U.S. stalled between 2011 and 2013, according to a report that was released on Oct. 15 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), but a national nonprofit says that there are ways to reverse that trend.

   

Specifically, while adult quit attempts increased steadily from 2001 to 2010, and there were some isolated increases among adults attempting to quit from 2011 to 2013, overall adult quit attempts have remained steady, according to the CDC’s report, titled “Trends in Quit Attempts Among Adult Cigarette Smokers -- United States, 2001-2013,” featured in the centers' recent journal, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

   

The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) released several suggestions to get the quit attempt numbers moving upward again and said “it is imperative that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) immediately assert its regulatory authority over all tobacco products.”

   

“The data indicating quit attempts stalled … is troubling and may be the result of lack of clarity around tobacco cessation coverage required under the Affordable Care Act (ACA),” according to an ACS CAN statement.

  

Under the ACA, most private health plans must cover comprehensive cessation services at no cost to the smoker, including both FDA-approved medications and counseling, services that ACS CAN said “offer the best opportunity to help smokers quit a powerful and deadly addiction.”

   

The Obama administration should remove barriers to cessation tools by updating the guidance defining required minimum coverage, the group said.

  

Additionally, ACS CAN said that federal and state lawmakers could impact adult quit attempts and prevent young people from starting the deadly habit by passing and implementing proven tobacco control approaches. The approaches include raising the price of tobacco products; implementing comprehensive smoke-free policies; and fully funding and sustaining evidenced-based, statewide tobacco prevention and cessation programs.

   

The Washington, D.C.-based ACS CAN is the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society that supports evidence-based policy and legislative solutions designed to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. Find the group online at www.acscan.org.

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