Answers About Tobacco

TFN E-News Update / July 2024

Nebraska Medicaid Expands Tobacco Cessation Coverage

Effective July 1, 2024, Nebraska Medicaid expanded its tobacco cessation program to include group counseling. Tobacco cessation group counseling will be billed under the title “Intensive Counseling” using code 99407. This will cover the individual in a group counseling session that is longer than 10 minutes. Providers must use the HQ modifier to indicate the group session. View Provider Bulletin 24-13 for more information.

Tobacco Free Nebraska has updated its Medicaid Tobacco Cessation Benefits Billing Guide to include group counseling. This billing guide is available to assist healthcare providers in billing for tobacco screening and cessation.


Updated Tobacco Free Nebraska Infographics

Going Smoke Free in Your Home

This resource highlights the health impacts of secondhand smoke and smoking inside homes in Nebraska.

What’s Tobacco Costing Nebraska?

This infographic highlights some of the many impacts tobacco has on the state.

Who is Using the Nebraska Tobacco Quitline?

This resource breaks down the demographics of those who use the Nebraska Tobacco Quitline and gives us more information about how the Quitline is used.


New Tobacco Pricing Resources from Public Health Law Center

Raising the price of tobacco products is one of the most effective strategies for reducing initiation, decreasing consumption, and increasing cessation. Check out Public Health Law Center’s two new related resources:

  • Taxing E-Cigarette Products offers tribal, state, and local governments’ insights into the rationales and strategies for various types of e-cigarette taxes.
  • Pricing Policies for Tobacco Products: Death on a Discount describes policy approaches to counter tobacco product discounting schemes, such as coupons and value-added promotions.

ARTICLE: Tobacco use among adults with disabilities in nine countries–Demographic and Health Survey, 2016–2021

On June 17, 2024, a new article was published on PLOS Global Public Health: Tobacco use among adults with disabilities in nine countries–Demographic and Health Survey, 2016–2021.

Few studies have investigated tobacco use among people with disabilities living in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The authors of this article aimed to examine current tobacco use among men and women with disabilities using Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data from 9 LMICs. A respondent was considered to currently use tobacco products if they reported current use of any combustible/smoked tobacco products or smokeless tobacco products. A secondary analysis of DHS data from 2016–2021 was collected in Haiti, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, Pakistan, Rwanda, South Africa, Timor-Leste, and Uganda. Marginal effects were examined in logistic regression to calculate the adjusted prevalence and adjusted prevalence differences of tobacco use by disability status, controlling for selected sociodemographic characteristics.


New Smoke-Free Air Resources

Americans for Nonsmokers Rights and CityHealth have partnered to develop two new resources to promote and educate on smoke-free air, specifically within multi-unit housing and keeping smoke-free spaces free from secondhand marijuana smoke.


FDA Updates

  • On July 2, 2024, the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia enjoined Soul Vapor LLC, a West Virginia-based company, and the company’s owner, Aurelius Jeffrey, from directly or indirectly manufacturing, distributing, selling, and/or offering for sale any new tobacco product that has not received marketing authorization from FDA.
  • On July 3, 2024, the FDA reposted two application documents related to the renewal of existing modified risk tobacco product (MRTP) orders for Swedish Match USA, Inc.’s General Snus products.
  • On July 15, 2024, the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) issued two notices in the Federal Register regarding its intention to launch CTP Portal Next Generation – an improved web portal for the submission of applications for certain new tobacco products – in 2025.
  • On July 18, 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the marketing of seven e-cigarette products in the United States through the premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) pathway.

Truth Initiative State Fact Sheets: Smoking prevalence, e-cigarette use, tobacco taxes, and more 2023

The tobacco policy landscape and economics of tobacco control differ widely by state. View a state-by-state breakdown for 2023 of cigarette smoking prevalence, e-cigarette and smokeless tobacco use, tobacco taxes, youth access laws, clean air ordinances, and quitting statistics and benefits, from Alabama to Wyoming.


Rose H.

Rose started smoking at age 13 and continued for many years, smoking two packs a day. When she was 58 years old, her addiction to cigarettes nearly caused her to lose a foot because of clogged blood vessels. It was during that time she learned that she had lung cancer. She had chemotherapy, surgery, radiation, and a painful drainage tube in her chest. Doctors were able to remove the part of Rose’s lung where the cancer had grown, but complications kept her in the hospital for a month with a chest tube.

“I regret picking up smoking in the first place,” said Rose. “It’s just addictive.”

Rose needed a second surgery after her lung cancer spread to her brain. She hoped that sharing the pain of her treatments would inspire other people to quit smoking as soon as possible. Rose wished that she had more days to spend with her friends and family—especially her three grandchildren, who meant the world to her. She died in 2015 at age 60 from cancer caused by smoking.


Tobacco Cessation and Behavioral Health Workgroup
July 29, 2024 | 2:00 – 3:30 p.m. CT
During these quarterly virtual meetings, individuals will focus on the workgroup’s mission to collaborate, establish projects for the workgroup, share resources and align goals across the state of Nebraska, with the aim of increasing tobacco cessation programming in behavioral health services.

American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation Clearing the Air Institute
Oct. 14-17, 2024 | Philadelphia, PA
Clearing the Air® Institute focuses on smoke-free air and gaps in protections, and features specific information on smoke-free workplaces, secondhand smoke and e-cigarette aerosol, multi-unit housing, marijuana, casinos, menthol and flavors, colleges, and more.

Nebraska DHHS Division of Public Health, Office of Health Disparities: Eliminating Health Disparities Conference
Oct. 16-17, 2024 | York, NE
The Eliminating Health Disparities in Nebraska conference will share successful programming and services which address and reduce health disparities in Nebraska in the areas of physical/mental health, social/spiritual well-being, community conditions, root causes, and organization transformation skills.

Learn more here.

Nebraska Asthma Conference
November 1, 2024 | Omaha, NE
This conference, presented by the Children’s Nebraska Asthma Center of Excellence and Sponsored by the Nebraska Asthma Coalition will be held at the Barbara Weitz Community Engagement Center at Omaha, and will examine current asthma topics, treatments, and the effects of social determinants of health on asthma.

View more information here.

SAVE THE DATE: National Conference on Tobacco or Health
Aug. 26-28, 2025 | Chicago, Illinois
The National Conference on Tobacco or Health is one of the largest, long-standing gatherings for top United States tobacco control professionals.

This convening attracts a diversity of attendees committed to best practices and policies to reduce tobacco use, which is the leading preventable cause of disease and death in the United States.

Tobacco Disparities Reframing Project
OPEN NOW | Virtual
The CDC Office on Smoking and Health’s training resource to help the tobacco control community use new evidence-based framing and messaging.


FREE Resources Available through the Nebraska Tobacco Quitline Order Form

This online order form provides the option to preview, order, download and print free and updated promotional resources such as brochures, window clings, magnets, information sheets and more with information about the Nebraska Tobacco Quitline. Most materials are available in Spanish and English. Please order or use these free materials as needed.


Upcoming Monthly Health Observances and Awareness Days

August

  • Back-to-School Season
  • Pow-wow Season (generally runs June through August)
  • National Girlfriends Day, August 1, 2024
  • World Lung Cancer Day, August 1, 2024
  • National Health Center Week, August 4-10, 2024
  • National Fresh Breath Day, August 6, 2024
  • National Dog Day, August 26, 2024
  • National Beach Day, August 30, 2024

August

  • Back-to-School Season
  • Cancer Awareness Months:
    – Blood Cancer Awareness Month
    – Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month
    – Prostate Cancer Awareness Month
  • Healthy Aging Month
  • Infant Mortality Awareness Month
  • National Hispanic Heritage Month, September 15-October 15, 2024
  • National Recovery Month
  • Rheumatic Disease Awareness Month
  • Labor Day, September 2, 2024
  • Star Trek Day, September 8, 2024
  • National Day of Encouragement, September 12, 2024
  • National Women’s Health and Fitness Day, September 25, 2024
  • World Heart Day, September 29, 2024
  • Active Aging Week, September 30 – October 6, 2024

Nebraska Tobacco Quitline Offers Resources for Healthcare Providers

Accredited courses are available online through the Nebraska Tobacco Quitline for providers looking to receive CME, CNE or CPE credits. Every year, providers in Nebraska support patients quitting tobacco by referring them to the Quitline. The courses offered help providers discuss how cessation can increase quit success and reduce the risks associated with tobacco use, including vaping. Several courses are offered and cover a variety of topics, such as Tobacco Use Disparities for People with Behavioral Health Conditions, Myths About Quitting, Vaping and E-Cigarette Devices, and more.

Additionally, providers can refer patients using the new online web referral option or the updated fax referral form. Go online to access tools, resources, and education modules, plus the web and fax referrals for providers ready to help patients quit, at QuitNow.ne.gov/providers.


Call 1-800-QUIT-NOW or visit QuitNow.ne.gov to reach a trained quit coach, get access to free quit-smoking medication, and make a plan to quit tobacco for good.