Impact of economic policies on reducing tobacco use among Medicaid clients in New York.
BACKGROUND
New York State (NYS) recently implemented Medicaid coverage for prescription pharmacologic adjuncts for cessation and a 55-cent excise tax on a pack of cigarettes. This study examined awareness and use of stop smoking medications and changes in smoking/purchasing behavior among Medicaid clients.


METHODS
Participants (n = 173) were English-speaking Medicaid clients ages 18-64 years who currently smoked cigarettes and volunteered to be interviewed while waiting to reregister with the NYC Medicaid Office during early 2001. Data were collected using a brief (10-min) interviewer-administered questionnaire.


RESULTS
Over 80% of Medicaid clients reported some desire to stop smoking and 40% intended to stop smoking in the next 6 months. Awareness of Medicaid coverage for tobacco cessation pharmacotherapy was 7% for nicotine replacement therapy and 13% for bupropion. Use of these stop smoking medications varied across products but in general was low (<10%). Half of the Medicaid clients reported changing their smoking behavior as a result of the cigarette tax increase.


CONCLUSIONS
The majority of Medicaid clients report a desire to stop smoking, but these economic influences alone are insufficient to substantially reduce smoking in this population. These findings emphasize the importance of allocating a portion of tobacco tax revenue to promote both expanded awareness of this prescription benefit among Medicaid clients and to support programs to further assist low-income smokers in their attempts to stop smoking.
Murphy
Jill M
JM
Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA. Jill.Murphy@RoswellPark.org
Shelley
Donna
D
Repetto
Patricia M
PM
Cummings
K Michael
KM
Mahoney
Martin C
MC
D000328:Adult; D006801:Humans; D008484:Medicaid; D008875:Middle Aged; D009518:New York; D009538:Nicotine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011203:Poverty; D012907:Smoking / Q000191:economics*; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology; D013660:Taxes
D009538:Nicotine