Commercial Tobacco Use
Promoting Quitting and Treatment

Integrate treatment in clinical practices

Integrating commercial tobacco use treatment into clinical practices is crucial for improving public health. Commercial tobacco use remains a leading cause of preventable death and disease, contributing to conditions like cancer, heart disease, and respiratory issues. By making commercial tobacco treatment a routine part of healthcare, providers can identify and support patients who want to quit, leading to better health outcomes and reduced healthcare costs. Additionally, many patients don’t seek help for quitting on their own, despite wanting to stop.

When healthcare providers proactively offer treatment – such as counseling, medication, and behavioral support – patients are more likely to succeed in quitting.

Navigating coverage, coding, and billing

• Billing Guide for Tobacco Screening and Cessation | American Lung Association (PDF)
• Billing Guide Addendum for Behavioral Health | American Lung Association (PDF)
• Commercial Tobacco Dependence Treatment Coverage in Minnesota | American Lung Association (PDF)
• Tobacco, E-cigarette Use, Exposure Coding Fact Sheet for Primary Care Pediatrics | American Academy of Pediatrics (PDF)

Learn more

• Clinical Cessation Tools | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Treating Tobacco Dependence Practice Manual – A Systems Change Approach | American Academy of Family Physicians (PDF)
• Tobacco Cessation Telehealth Guide | American Academy of Family Physicians (PDF)
• Integrating Tobacco Cessation into Electronic Health Records | American Academy of Family Physicians (PDF)
• Tobacco Cessation Change Package | Million Hearts®
• Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence: 2008 Update | U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Create a supportive workplace

Employers can play a vital role in helping their staff quit commercial tobacco use – not just for the sake of employee health, but also for the overall wellbeing and productivity of the organization. Workplace policies and practices that support treatment can make quitting commercial tobacco use easier for employees and can encourage them to use their treatment coverage.

• Offer comprehensive insurance coverage: Employers can offer comprehensive coverage that supports multiple quit attempts each year, and that covers individual, group and phone counseling, as well as all FDA-approved commercial tobacco use treatment medications with no lifetime limits or caps.
• Promote health plan benefits: Let staff know they have access to treatment programs, counseling, FDA-approved commercial tobacco use treatment medications, and quitlines.
• Create a supportive environment: Implement commercial tobacco-free and smoke-free grounds or worksite policies and foster a culture of wellness and non-judgment. Offer treatment support groups and staff lunch-and-learns.
• Integrate with wellness programs: Combine commercial tobacco use treatment with broader health initiatives like fitness challenges, mental health support, and nutrition counseling.
• Educate and communicate: Share information about the risks of commercial tobacco use and the benefits of quitting through workshops, newsletters, and health fairs.

Comprehensive health plan coverage

Employers can ensure that all staff have comprehensive coverage with minimal barriers. Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), most employer-sponsored health insurance plans are required to cover commercial tobacco use treatment as a preventive service at no cost to employees. But employers can go beyond the minimum requirements to maximize impact.

• Ensure comprehensive coverage: Offer plans that cover all FDA-approved commercial tobacco use treatment medications, multiple types of behavioral counseling (individual, group, and phone), and web-based programs.
• Remove barriers: Eliminate co-pays, deductibles, and prior authorization requirements for commercial tobacco use treatments to make them more accessible.
• Promote use: Actively communicate the availability of commercial tobacco use treatment benefits through onboarding materials, workplace wellness newsletters, and HR portals.
• Incentivize participation: Provide premium discounts, gift cards, or other rewards for employees who participate in commercial tobacco use treatment programs or complete them.

Return on investment

The benefits of providing most commercial tobacco use treatments greatly outweigh the costs.

• Reduced absenteeism: Healthier employees take fewer sick days, which improves overall workforce reliability.
• Increased productivity: People who smoke may take more breaks and may experience reduced focus. Quitting can lead to better concentration and work performance.
• Cost savings: Employers can save nearly $6,000 per year per employee who quits commercial tobacco use due to reduced health care costs and increased productivity.
• Quick payback: Investments in treatment programs can be fully offset in as little as three years, with even greater savings for high-risk populations like pregnant employees or those with chronic conditions.

Learn more 

• Commercial Tobacco-Free and Smoke-Free Worksite Policy – A Minnesota Model | Public Health Law Center (PDF)
• Making Your Worksite Smokefree and Commercial Tobacco-Free | American Lung Association (PDF)
• Return on Investment for Tobacco Cessation (PDF)

Make referrals to treatment services

Health care providers and community-based organizations can refer patients and clients to free quitting support services. Referrals can be made to Quit Partner^TM, a free and confidential service helping adults living in Minnesota who want to quit smoking, vaping, or using chew or other commercial tobacco products. Quit Partner coaches are Certified Tobacco Treatment Specialists with extensive training to guide individuals through behavioral counseling and medication support. Coaches are dedicated to working with participants one-on-one to create a quitting plan that will work for them.

Referrals can be made to Quit Partner in several ways – completing a web form, sending a fax, or implementing eReferral.

How to make referrals

1. Ask your client or patient about their commercial tobacco use.
2. If your client or patient uses commercial tobacco, advise them to quit and offer to have Quit Partner call them as a free resource to support quitting.
3. If your client or patient agrees, submit a referral.

Make a Referral

After making a referral, Quit Partner will contact your client or patient within 24 hours to complete their enrollment and connect them to the appropriate commercial tobacco treatment program.

Your client's health insurance status will be assessed during the enrollment process. If your client is underinsured or uninsured or qualifies for one of our specialized programs, they will receive support through Quit Partner. If your client has health insurance coverage, they will be connected to treatment support through their health plan.

Learn more

• Frequently Asked Questions about Quit Partner Referral (PDF)
• Quit Partner Provider Referral Presentation Summary (PDF)
• Resources for Health Professionals | Quit Partner
  This toolkit highlights key tools to create and maintain a system for screening, treating and connecting patients to the quitline. Resources are grouped by role: Health care and Community Service Providers, Support Staff, or Health Systems Change Advocates.

Promote free treatment programs

Organizations of all types can play a key role in connecting people to free resources for quitting commercial tobacco use. By actively promoting treatment programs, organizations can help eliminate barriers to access – such as cost, lack of awareness, or stigma – and empower individuals to seek help. This is especially important in communities disproportionately affected by commercial tobacco use, where strategic outreach can make a significant difference in health equity.

Free promotional materials

Free promotional materials are available to help organizations raise awareness of treatment programs. Quit Partner, for example, provides downloadable flyers, posters, social media graphics, and videos that can be easily shared in clinics, workplaces, schools, and community centers. These materials are designed to be inclusive and culturally relevant, making it easier to reach diverse populations. By leveraging these tools, organizations can amplify their impact and help more people access the support they need to quit for good.

• Quit Partner Downloadable Materials
  Get free materials for print or download, or order from a limited supply of pre-printed materials available in English, Spanish, Somali, and Hmong.
• Cessation Programs | Good Medicine Keepers
• Commercial Tobacco Cessation Programs | Keep It Sacred – National Native Network
• Rack card: Thinking about Quitting Tobacco? (PDF)
• Patient Cessation Materials | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Tips From Former Smokers® - Partners | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  The Tips campaign uses approaches to address health disparities in pursuit of health equity by increasing the reach, representation, receptivity, and accessibility of smoking cessation messages. Tips also increases awareness of free quit-smoking resources among adults—no matter who they are or where they live. Get free campaign materials to promote quitting.

Take free and accredited continuing education

Commercial tobacco use, like smoking and vaping, is still the leading causes of preventable death and disease in Minnesota and the nation. Health care professionals are in a unique position to help people quit and free, accredited continuing education gives providers up-to-date, evidence-based skills to:

• Start effective conversations about quitting
• Understand how nicotine dependence works
• Recommend proven treatments and resources
• Support patients from all backgrounds, including youth and those with mental health challenges

Minnesota Tobacco Prevention QuitLogix® Training

Start with these free, accredited continuing education courses from the Minnesota Department of Health and Quit Partner™, which were designed with busy professionals in mind. They are quick, easy, engaging, and will expand your knowledge base to help you best work with those who use commercial tobacco.

These trainings will benefit anyone who serves people who use commercial tobacco, from healthcare professionals to social workers or school staff.

Learn more: Minnesota Tobacco Prevention QuitLogix® Training

More courses

• Clinical Education and Training | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  Find training and resources to help talk with patients about quitting commercial tobacco use. Tools include videos, courses, and practical tips for starting conversations, offering support, and connecting patients to treatments.
• Smoking Cessation Leadership Center | UCSF Medical Center
• Rx for Change: Clinician-Assisted Tobacco Cessation | UCSF Medical Center
  This course is a comprehensive, turn-key program for training students and licensed clinicians in virtually any health professional field. It includes selected readings, lecture with animated PowerPoint slides, video, role playing with case scenarios, and standardized patients (with corresponding Objective Structured Clinical Examination tools).
• Tobacco Cessation Webinar Series | Minnesota Dental Association
  A free webinar on tobacco cessation, worth one fundamental continuing education credit and focusing on commercial tobacco’s role as a common risk factor for oral diseases, learning how to assess the patient, motivational interviewing techniques, available resources, and referral options.
• Smoking Cessation Strategies for Mental Health Providers: Addressing Smoking Stigma, Encouraging Change | NAMI Minnesota
  This interactive online training, worth three CEUs, provides education about nicotine addiction, special considerations for individuals living with a mental illness, motivational interviewing techniques, and skills to help professionals addressing smoking cessation as part of a wellness plan.

Behavioral health and counseling

Behavioral health professionals are well-positioned to help individuals quit commercial tobacco use because they can address both the mental and physical aspects of addiction. Many people who smoke, vape, or use other commercial tobacco products also struggle with stress, anxiety, or substance use disorders, making behavioral health professionals key allies in the quitting process.

Behavioral health providers can integrate commercial tobacco recovery into treatment plans, helping clients manage cravings, build coping strategies, and improve overall wellbeing. Their expertise in motivational interviewing and therapy makes them uniquely suited to support long-term success in quitting commercial tobacco use.

Learn more

• A Toolkit to Address Tobacco Use in Behavioral Health Settings | American Lung Association in Minnesota (PDF)
• Billing Guide Addendum for Behavioral Health | American Lung Association (PDF)
• How to Address Tobacco Use in Minnesota's Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Services: Tips from the Field | Lung Mind Alliance (PDF)
• Learning About Healthy Living: Tobacco and Youth | Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (PDF)

Oral health

Because commercial tobacco use affects oral health, dental practices may provide a uniquely effective setting for prevention and treatment. Dentists and dental staff can play an important role in helping people quit by asking patients if they use commercial tobacco, encouraging them to stop, and sharing information about how to quit.

Learn more

• Smoking, Gum Disease, and Tooth Loss | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Tobacco Use and Cessation | American Dental Association
• Tobacco Cessation Webinar Series | Minnesota Dental Association
  A free webinar on tobacco cessation, worth one fundamental continuing education credit and focusing on commercial tobacco’s role as a common risk factor for oral diseases, learning how to assess the patient, motivational interviewing techniques, available resources, and referral options.

Pediatrics

Commercial tobacco use often starts early – most adults who use commercial tobacco began when they were teens. That’s why commercial tobacco use, like smoking or vaping, is an important pediatric issue.

Using commercial tobacco at a young age is a serious health risk. Teens and young adults are more likely to experience nicotine dependence because their brains are still developing until about age 25. In fact, research shows that addiction can happen faster in youth than in adults – even before they start using commercial tobacco every day.

Health care professionals play an important role in preventing youth vaping

• Talk to your young patients about the risks of commercial tobacco use, including vaping, and provide education about the harms to their respiratory health and risk for addiction.
• Screen all patients, including parents, for commercial tobacco use, encourage them to quit, and refer them to services for help quitting.

Learn more

• Addressing Pediatric Tobacco and Nicotine Use: Considerations for Clinicians | American Academy of Pediatrics
• E-cigarettes and Youth: What Health Care Providers Need to Know | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PDF)
• E-cigarette Use Among Youth | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• E-cigarettes and Vaping Toolkit | American Academy of Pediatrics
• Tobacco Control and Prevention | American Academy of Pediatrics
• Tobacco, E-cigarette Use, Exposure Coding Fact Sheet for Primary Care Pediatrics | American Academy of Pediatrics (PDF)
• Youth Tobacco Cessation Toolkits | American Academy of Pediatrics

Pharmacy

With expertise in medication management and frequent interactions with the community, pharmacists can play a key role in helping people successfully quit commercial tobacco use. Pharmacists in Minnesota are well-equipped to support commercial tobacco treatment due to their accessibility and expanded prescribing authority.

In 2020, Minnesota passed a law allowing pharmacists to independently prescribe nicotine replacement therapies, making it easier for people to get help quitting commercial tobacco use without needing a doctor's appointment. Pharmacists must follow protocols developed by the Minnesota Board of Pharmacy. Before a pharmacist is authorized to prescribe under this protocol, they must successfully complete a training program that is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, such as Implementing Pharmacist Prescriptive Authority for Nicotine Replacement Medications.

Learn more

• Pharmacist Prescribing Protocols | Minnesota Board of Pharmacy
• Promising Practices For Pharmacist Engagement In Tobacco Cessation Interventions | American Pharmacists Association
  This online toolkit includes videos, case studies, and a written report to assist pharmacists in administering commercial tobacco cessation interventions to clients who use commercial tobacco products.