To the editor:
We congratulate Premier Christy Clark on taking such swift action to help British Columbia smokers quit.
We regularly receive appeals from smokers desperate for financial help to buy quit smoking aids. The premier’s announcement to provide free nicotine replacement therapies to B.C. smokers and to cover prescription cessation products under Pharmacare are tangible and proven measures to help many quit effectively who would not be able to afford these products otherwise.
More than 550,000 British Columbians still smoke, yet we know that close to 70 per cent of them want to quit. But we also know that quitting can be difficult, and while it can take most smokers five or six quit attempts before they quit successfully, studies have shown that stop-smoking products can double, triple or even quadruple the likelihood of quitting successfully.
Providing free supports to smokers will not only improve health outcomes for people who smoke, but will save millions in costs to the health-care system. It’s great news for people who want to quit and great news for B.C. taxpayers.
We applaud Premier Clark on this progressive measure to improve the health and future well-being of British Columbians who smoke.
Diego Marchese, COO
Heart and Stroke Foundation of BC & Yukon
Scott McDonald, president/CEO
BC Lung Association
