For smokers trying to quit, Chantix, Zyban will no longer require a prescription

Stopping smoking just got one step easier for Hoosiers: As of Aug. 1, a doctor’s prescription will no longer be needed to buy tobacco cessation products.

The change announced Monday will apply to prescription medicines such as Chantix and Zyban, which contain the same ingredient as the antidepressant Wellbutrin.

The announcement by state health officials, represents one side of a three-pronged approach that the state is taking to lower Indiana’s smoking rate, one of the highest in the nation.         

Indiana State Health Commissioner Kris Box and Family and Social Services Administration Secretary Jennifer Walthall said  Monday that Indiana would join 11 other states that make these products available without a prescription.

Studies consistently place Indiana in the top 10 of states with the highest smoking rates. About 22% of Indiana residents smoke and 13% of expectant mothers.

The percentage of pregnant women on Medicaid who smoke is even higher, nearly 25%, compared with a national average of about 8%.

In an effort to encourage expecting and new mothers to quit smoking for good, state officials announced mothers on Medicaid will no longer have a co-pay for tobacco cessation products for up to a year after a child’s birth. In addition, the Medicaid program will now reimburse tobacco cessation counseling for pregnant women.

More:Indiana was a 'leader' in tobacco prevention. Now it's falling behind.

Smoking while pregnant raises the risk of a negative outcome for both mother and baby. Indiana has the seventh-highest infant mortality rate and third highest maternal mortality rate.

Mothers who smoke are at least twice as likely to deliver prematurely, which is the leading cause of infant death in Indiana. The habit also increases the risk of stillbirth by nearly 50%.

For many women, discovering they are expecting spurs them to consider quitting. Walthall said that the changes aim to make it as easy as possible for them to do so.

Eliminating the co-pay will have a financial impact. Walthall said she did not know what that cost would be, but the state will use money from its Medicaid reserves to cover it.

“We are here to help Hoosiers seize that critical moment,” she said. “We want to put as much resources into this process as possible.”

Reimbursing for tobacco cessation counseling may also help some pregnant women start and persist in their efforts to quit, she said.

Healthcare providers, including nurses and medical assistants, can undergo certificate training in becoming tobacco cessation counselors. Their services will then be billable under Medicaid, not leaving it to the woman’s doctor to add one more thing to his or her to-do list with the patient.

But it’s not just pregnant women who are negatively impacted by smoking, which is why Box signed a standing order on Monday that would let anyone – man, woman, on commercial insurance or Medicaid – purchase tobacco cessation products without a prescription.

Other states that have taken the step have developed specific protocols for pharmacists to dispense such products. California, for instance, requires that pharmacists undergo two hours of continuing education on these products, according to the National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations. 

Box said Indiana was working on how the process will work here.

Cigarettes’ nefarious connection to a host of serious health conditions from cancer to heart disease to stroke and more necessitated the changes, Box said.

“Smoking is a domino” for bad health outcomes, she said. “We want to remove as many barriers as possible so that when the right time comes, there’s no barriers to getting help.”

Contact IndyStar reporter Shari Rudavsky at 317-444-6354 or  shari.rudavsky@indystar.com. Follow her on  Facebook and on Twitter: @srudavsky.