Cowboy State doesn't follow several methods used by other states to help smokers stop.

By Michelle Dynes
mdynes@wyomingnews.com

CHEYENNE -- Where you live could affect your ability to quit smoking.

Eight states enacted legislative or regulatory standards that require private health insurance companies to cover tobacco cessation. Wyoming is not one of them.

Six states provide cessation coverage to state employees. Wyoming is not on that list either.

The state does offer some support for Medicaid patients, covering nicotine replacement gums, patches and prescription medications. But advocates say the state is missing other opportunities to help smokers quit and save health-care dollars.

The American Lung Association examined the nationwide insurance breakdown as part of the report "Helping Smokers Quit: State Cessation Coverage" released today.

The goal is to educate residents and lawmakers about the coverage gaps that could cause some patients to postpone quitting, said Jennifer Singleterry, manager of cessation policy for the American Lung Association. She added that 70 percent of smokers want to stop and every year 44 percent try to quit.

"Only 4 to 7 percent are successful," she said. "There is a lot of interest in trying, but one of the reasons they are not successful is because there is no access to (nicotine replacement therapies). They often try to do it cold-turkey."

Various gums, patches, lozenges, inhalers, nasal sprays and medications deliver medicinal nicotine to ease a quitter's withdrawal symptoms. But even states with cessation coverage don't always include the full range of treatment options.

For example, Wyoming Medicaid patients are covered if they choose the patch but not if they select a nasal spray or inhaler. The insurance plan covers individual counseling sessions but not group counseling.

Singleterry said tobacco cessation should be treated like any other medical condition, allowing patients to find the method that works best for them. More choice also encourages smokers to try again when an attempt to quit fails.

All of the report's coverage recommendations make sense, said Loretta Wolf of the Wyoming branch of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.

Smokers who want to quit have a higher success rate with nicotine replacement therapies, and insurance companies should include these treatments, she said.

The Wyoming Quit Tobacco Program is successful because it offers cession assistance based on a sliding fee scale. And the cost of treatment could discourage some of the people who want to quit, she added.