National Working Group for ACTTION

December 28, 2009

Last year, the National Working Group for ACTTION convened a group of leaders from public and private health, business and political sectors to address the issue of access to tobacco cessation in America. The goal was to:

·         Call attention to tobacco users’ lack of access to comprehensive tobacco cessation treatment

·         Promote the need for multi-sector action around the need to provide greater access to tobacco use treatment

·         Set a goal to ensure that every tobacco user has access to comprehensive treatment services by the year 2020 (if not sooner)

Over the past year, there have been significant changes in the tobacco-related field. Nationally, the country passed a federal tobacco tax increase – a policy that many states have replicated. Additionally, smoking bans have spread through the nation in restaurants, bars and workplaces, pushing many smokers to consider quitting smoking. This national movement toward smoke-free policies has created a strong environment for supporters of the Call for ACTTION to raise their voices on issues related to access and coverage for tobacco cessation treatments and services.

Partnership for Prevention and all the ACTTION endorsers have led the way for the Call for ACTTION in 2009. Whether it was working with the Joint Commission to expand tobacco use screening and cessation treatment in hospital patients, to collaborating with national, state and local organizations to bring attention to tobacco control issues to increasing visibility and understanding of the need for access to treatment via Webinars, conference presentations, and materials sharing, all our efforts are leading to success.

More recently, the Call for ACTTION received a strong nod from notable public health leaders who referenced the ACTTION document in their November 6 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, which surveyed the nation’s Medicaid programs in 2007 in order to track the progress toward reaching the Health People 2010 goal of “expanding coverage of evidence-based treatments for nicotine dependency to all 51 Medicaid programs.” (For more information on the report, please click here.) This recognition exemplifies the strong support for the Call for ACTTION, which was endorsed by numerous organizations and individuals, including three former Secretaries of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, three former U.S. Surgeons General and representatives from the most influential organizations fighting against tobacco use.  

As we look to 2010, we envision the Call for ACTTION will continue to be a group that is interested in identifying gaps and opportunities for enhancing access to evidence-based tobacco-use treatments. To do this, it must draw more attention to and drive solutions around the need for expanded consumer access to evidence-based cessation treatments that can help more tobacco users quit. Right now, the coalition can become catalysts in the political, civic, business and health policy spaces and advocate for system and policy changes to make access to these treatments a standard offering in the U.S. health system.

Your Call to Action: Review the Call for ACTTION and determine what you can do in 2010 to move toward providing comprehensive tobacco cessation treatment to smokers who want to quit.