Tobacco Prevention News
May 10 marks 19 years of helping Montanans quit tobacco. Since 2004, more than 100,000 Montanans have called the Montana Tobacco Quit Line for help with their quit attempt and more than 36,000 have quit. Montana has one of the highest quit rates for all tobacco products in the nation, according to the North American Quitline Consortium. The quit rate is significantly higher for Montanans who utilize the Montana Tobacco Quit Line than for those who try quitting alone (36 percent compared to 4 to 7 percent).
The Montana Tobacco Quit Line has made significant advances over the past 19 years to better reach and serve Montanans. The Quit Line added a feature allowing pregnant American Indian participants to enroll in a culturally tailored program that ensures a higher amount of support is available to increase the likelihood of achieving cessation during pregnancy and post-partum.
Utilizing the Quit Line is completely free and those engaged in the program can access free nicotine patches, gum, or lozenges as well as three months of free Bupropion. Since its inception, the Quit Line has made improvements to better serve vulnerable populations and groups targeted by the tobacco industry. The successes include:
• 2013, the Quit Now Montana Pregnancy Program for pregnant women who want to quit tobacco. This program offers nine free coaching calls with a dedicated female coach as well as cash incentives with each completed coaching call: $20 for completed calls while pregnant and $30 for completed calls postpartum.
• 2015, the American Indian Commercial Tobacco Quit Line, which offers free coaching calls with American Indian coaches who can speak to the culture and quit commercial tobacco.
• 2019, the Quit Line initiated its newest program, My Life, My Quit, a free texting/ chat program for youth under 18 who are looking to quit all forms of tobacco, including e-cigarettes.
“While we have seen moderate declines in adult tobacco use since 2004, we still have one in four Montanans using some form of tobacco, whether it be cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, e-cigarettes, or a combination of these. The introduction of e-cigarettes has driven an increase in tobacco use among youth in Montana with one in four Montana high school students currently using e-cigarettes. Our work is far from over,” says A.J. Allen, tobacco education specialist for Roosevelt County.
To join with 100,000 other Montanans, call the Montana Tobacco Quit Line to help you quit tobacco your way. The Montana Tobacco Quit Line, along with FDA-approved cessation medications available through enrollment, is a proven and effective way to help you quit tobacco use successfully.
Contact:
•Montana Tobacco Quit Line: 1-800-QUIT-NOW or QuitNowMontana.com
•American Indian Commercial Tobacco Quit Line: 1-855-5AI-QUIT or MTAmercianIndianQuitLine. com
•My Life, My Quit (Under 18): 1-855-891-9989 or MyLife-MyQuit.com
•Montanans under 25, text “start” to 36072
