The Kansas Tobacco Quitline is offering new resources to Kansans with behavioral health conditions (mental and/or substance use disorders).
For those who qualify, added services include more frequent calls from a counselor, a team of dedicated Quit Coaches specially trained in the challenges of quitting smoking for persons with mental illnesses and addictions, and a two-week supply of nicotine replacement therapy, such as the patch, gum, or lozenge.
Facts about behavioral health and tobacco/nicotine use:
- People with mental illness and substance abuse are disproportionately affected with high smoking prevalence; they account for more than 200,000 of the 480,000 tobacco-attributable deaths in the United States annually.
- Smokers with mental health conditions want to quit as much as any other group of smokers.
- Research shows that quitting smoking can improve mental health and addiction recovery outcomes.