Event ID:2989498
Event Started:7/12/2016 10:56:49 AM ET

This is Lee Pearce, from the atom Alliance. I appreciate you taking time to answer a few questions about your Quitline today. Can you tell us about yourself and who you work for?

Good morning. Thanks for having me. I am Jabari Sullen, the Tobacco Quitline Program Manager for the Alabama Department of Public Health.

Good. What can you tell us about the Quitline? How did it originate?

The Quitline was started back in April 1, 2005, as a way to help promote tobacco cessation and lower the smoking rates in the state of Alabama.

The funding for the Quitline, where did that come from and are there any fees associated with using it?

Currently, theQuitline is free to anybody here in the state of Alabama. The funding is provided from federal sources and also some state dollars go to providing funding for the Quitline.

What services does the Quitline offer?

The Alabama Quitline is free. It is evidence-based telephone and online coaching services. Through that service, you can get up to four scheduled coaching calls with the trained cessation coach. You also get free nicotine replacement therapy. We use the patchesand are providing them to anybody who is medically eligible. You can also live-chat online with a coach to help in the cessation process. When I say medically eligible, that means that if you're not currently pregnant or breast-feeding, have uncontrolled high blood pressure, heart disease, or had a stroke. If you have these conditions, you have to be approved by your doctor to receive the patches. You have to be enrolled in the coaching sessions to be eligible to get patches, so you cannot just call to get patches. You have to call and also go through the coaching sessions.

Who is eligible for the Quitline services?

Anybody here in the state of Alabama is eligible for the Quitline.

Do most other states have a Quitline?

Yes, they do.The difference is, some states offer different types of cessation tools for nicotine replacement. Some states offer patches and some offer the gum. We only offer patches and only eight weeks of the patches.

What are the biggest hurdles you see affiliated with the quit line?

Some of the biggest things are when people call, they think they can skip to the patches without having to enroll in the sessions. Thebiggest role is the cessation coaching sessions,which is the key. We get the word out and people enroll in the coaching. When the coaching is combined with the nicotine replacement, it really goes a long way to help people quit. Also, having people understand that it doesn't matter when they call, because it is on their schedule. The evidence-based telephone coaching cessation is a lot easier, because you do not have to go anywhere at a set time. You can set the time. We are open from 6:00 a.m. until midnight, seven days per week. You can set when you want to call and talk.

You have some people may change their number. They could have been referred by the healthcare provider and when the Quitline calls them back, they have a new number. So, I think some of it is more on the patient's end for some of the hurdles that we deal with (as far as making sure that people have the same number). When the Quitline calls them backand they answer, and recognize the number that we are calling from, they do not send us to voicemail. So, I think that is probably one of the biggest things we deal with.

Are there any specific commitments required for those who use the Quitline?

______

The biggest commitment when somebody calls 1-800-Quit-Now (1-800-784-8669)is the fact you have to be committed to participating in the coaching session. That is what enables you to receive the nicotine replacement therapy.

What about data? Do you have any information you can share with us that entail success rates, or any other type of data associated with the Quitline? ______

With the Quitline in Alabama, we have an adult rate of about 21.1%, which is slightly higher than the national average. We have a hospital rate of 14%. When you use the nicotine replacement and have coaching, after six months we have about a 32.64% quit rate for people who remain quitted (those who have not use tobacco six months afterwards). That's a fairly good rate and also a return on investment here in Alabama. For every dollar that we spend on our Quitline services, we get a $3.86 return. So, it is a really good return on the money we are putting into the program and the results we are getting back. We're trying to get those numbers where they need to be, because currently, Medicaid in Alabama is spending about $288 million on tobacco-related illnesses. So, if we can continue to spend money to help people quit, it can go a long way to lowering the long-term health care cost here in the state.

The $3.68, that is a savings?

Yes. For every dollar we spend.

In terms of not having to spend on health care related conditions and whatnot. Is there anything else with the Quitline or in general about smoking in the state of Alabama that you can share with us?

The thing to realize is it not only targets people who smoke, but also people who use electronic cigarettes, people who use cigarettes and electronic cigarettes as dual users, people who use smokeless tobacco,and if you use any type of snuff or cigars. It is all types of tobacco products that the Quitline helps people quit. You get a personalized quit patch based on what products you are using, to help you get off of those different habits.

It is not just smoking-related, it is anything?

Any tobacco products.

This has been very informative and I hope that those who are going to be able to listen to this podcast in the future will take advantage of contacting their state representatives from atom Alliance for additional information. Of course, we will continue to advocate for the use of the Quitline in our respective states. As we meet with providers, we will share the call-in information and some of these statistics. We appreciate your time today. If there is not anything else, we will conclude the interview and do it again sometime soon.

One more thing, I do not know if I've mentioned the website, quitnowalabama.com. where you can also be enrolled. There and along with the actual number for the quit line, 1-800-Quit-Now (1-800-784-8669). Those are just two ways that you can get connected by not only being referred from your healthcare provider.

Okay. Thank you Jabari and have a good day.

You have a great day also.

[ Event concluded ]