National Working Group for ACTTION

April 14, 2009

Every 10 years, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) drafts updated National Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Objectives (a.k.a, Healthy People).  As Healthy People 2010 (HP2010) comes to a close, the HHS Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Healthy People 2020 (HP2020) is seeking comments on the existing objectives as it updates for 2020 objectives.  

Given your involvement in the National Working Group and/or support for the recently issued Call for ACTTION, we wanted to bring to your attention this opportunity to submit comments to the Committee and showcase the Call for ACTTION recommendations with this national goal-setting body.  While the Committee is not a regulatory body, the Healthy People process does influence key national objectives—and the commitment of resources to support them—for major health indicators, including tobacco use treatment.  

As you are considering your position and action for this opportunity, it is important to remember that, for tobacco use, the overarching objective of HP2010 has been to “reduce illness, disability, and death related to tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke.”  In comparison, the key goal of the Call for ACTTION is to “expand access to comprehensive tobacco cessation treatment to 50 percent of smokers by 2015, and 100 percent by 2020.”  Clearly, the Call for ACTTION recommendations are vehicles that can help the nation accomplish the tobacco use objective Healthy People.

HP2010 had several objectives specific to cessation and treatment (Objectives 27-5 through 27-8), which focus specifically on cessation with adults, adolescents and pregnant women, as well as one objective on overall insurance coverage for evidence-based tobacco cessation treatments. A complete list of the tobacco-related objectives from HP2010 can be found at http://healthypeople.gov/data/midcourse/html/focusareas/FA27Objectives.htm.

We believe that comments and statements from supporters of the Call for ACTTION regarding the importance of increasing access to and coverage for comprehensive tobacco cessation treatment can help strengthen the objectives pertaining to tobacco use, and position the Call for ACTTION’s recommendations as a road map to promoting better support for quitters.  Moreover, any statement to the Committee should articulate the critical need to have reliable data sources established at the outset in order to effectively track progress.

To help the Committee identify reliable resources for measuring progress, we should point the Committee to previously unavailable data sources, such as the American Lung Association’s report card on state-specific cessation coverage (http://www.stateoftobaccocontrol.org/).  In addition, any comments should reference the Call for ACTTION and the ACTTION Web site (www.acttiontoquit.org) so that it becomes part of the Committee record. 

The process for submitting comments to the Committee is paperless and takes place on the Healthy People Web site (http://healthypeople.gov/hp2020/Comments/SubjectFocus.aspx).  To submit comments you must click on the relevant subject area (tobacco use) and then submit your comments.  We strongly recommend that you also register on the Web site when submitting your comments (it does allow you to by-pass registration), so you can receive updates throughout the year.

The deadline for filing comments is Friday, April 24.

Your Call to Action:  Comment on the value of comprehensive tobacco cessation services and the need for expansion of these services in publicly funded programs, like Medicaid and Medicare and in private health plans.