B.C. smokers lit up phone lines calling 8-1-1 last week to get help quitting.
A total of 7,107 nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) orders were taken during the first week of the province's smoking cessation program coming into effect Friday, Sept. 30.
The vast majority of smokers who called HealthLink BC at 8-1-1 to register for the program opted to pick up their order at a pharmacy rather than get their order mailed to the home address.
When it came to choice of product, 82 per cent of people who registered chose nicotine patches over gum to help them quit smoking.
"It's great to see such a phenomenal response in the first week to our smoking cessation program," said Health Minister Michael de Jong in a news release. "Hopefully, by making the healthy choice the easier choice, it will translate into more and more British Columbians quitting smoking."
Eligible B.C. residents can receive a single continuous course of treatment lasting up to 12 consecutive weeks with either a prescription smoking cessation drug or an NRT product once every calendar year.
As part of the smoking cessation program, varenicline (Champix) and bupropion (Zyban) are also covered by B.C. PharmaCare and are available with a prescription. People will need to see their doctor for a prescription and be registered in a PharmaCare plan to receive coverage for these products. The level of coverage will depend on a person's PharmaCare plan.
"Quitting smoking is not only good for your health and for the health of those around you, but it is also good for our health-care system as it will avoid the millions of dollars it costs to treat respiratory illnesses, heart disease and cancer," added deJong.
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