Let’s Get Ready for The Great American Smokeout on 11/16/2023!

For more than 40 years, the American Cancer Society has hosted the Great American Smokeout on the third Thursday of November. This yearly event is a call for action, not just for one day, but year-round. This event gives health care providers an opportunity to encourage their nicotine dependent patients to use the date to make a plan to quit.

Each year, nearly half a million Americans die prematurely of smoking or exposure to secondhand smoke. Another 16 million live with a serious illness caused by smoking. Each year, the United States spends more than $225 billion on medical care to treat smoking-related disease in adults.

Providers can visit the American Cancer Society: Great American Smokeout Event Tools and Resources for more information and to download free resources for use in workplaces, health systems, and other places in the community. These resources include posters, flyers, print ads, table signs and quit cards.

Tobacco counseling is a Medicare covered preventative service. CMS' MLN® Educational Tool: Medicare Preventive Services is a toolkit for providers looking for information on Counseling to Prevent Tobacco Use. Visit National Government Services' Tobacco Cessation web page for a comprehensive list of job aids to assist with questions and concerns.

Posted 10/12/2023