National Working Group for ACTTION

May 26, 2010

Dear Partners,

An important feature of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (health reform) is the creation of the Prevention and Public Health Fund.  The fund is to be used for prevention, wellness, and public health activities, including a focus on reducing chronic disease rates. In mid-April, Partnership for Prevention joined with the American Cancer Society, Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, and Legacy, in urging Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to give a “high and appropriate funding priority” to tobacco control in the use of the Fund.  The letter notes that “Given that tobacco use remains the leading preventable cause of death, a significant investment in proven tobacco prevention and cessation programs, which are primed and ready to go, is critical and would ensure a large return on investment.”

In particular, three areas were recommended for funding:

• public education media campaigns to discourage initiation as well as motivate and provide information to people who want to quit;
• quitlines; and
• existing state and community-based tobacco control programs.

Funding from the new pot of money would build on the prevention funds provided to tobacco control through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (stimulus bill).  Tobacco control received more than 30 percent of the ARRA prevention funds.  Investment in tobacco control works to reduce tobacco use among both youth and adults, saving lives and money.

Newly released data from the Adult Tobacco Survey points to the need to provide more access to services for smokers who want to quit. About 80% of smokers say they want to quit, but only about one quarter said their employer had a cessation program and most states do not provide full Medicaid coverage for cessation counseling and medications. (See article below for more details.)  The North American Quitline Consortium reported in April that only 1.2% of smokers were served by smokers despite an increase in demand.

Already states are using the $44,387,141 provided to expand tobacco quitlines, as well as a portion of their base awards for Policy and Environmental Change.  In addition, six of the 13 awards in the Competitive Special Policy and Environmental Change Initiative went to state projects in tobacco control.  This is a strong start in increasing the productive investments in tobacco control and cessation. 

Partnership will continue to push for the new funds for health reform to be invested in projects to curb the use of tobacco.  We urge our partners to communicate with Secretary Sebelius with strong support for allocating a substantial portion of the new Prevention and Public Health Fund to tobacco control as was done with the Prevention and Wellness Initiative of the stimulus funds. We also welcome your comments on our new blog, The Prevention Dilemma: DHHS Secretary Urged To Seize Opportunity to Impact Public Health, which outlines Partnership’s CEO & President Rob Gould’s Op Ed written for Kaiser Health News.

Regards,

Diane Canova, JD
Vice President, Policy & Programs
Partnership for Prevention

Letter to Sebelius

For a brief on how health reform will affect tobacco cessation, click here.