Paramount members who want to quit smoking in 2007 still have the opportunity to call the Ohio Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Foundation’s Ohio Tobacco Quit Line at 1-800-QUIT-NOW. Paramount callers to the Quit Line can receive up to eight weeks of free nicotinereplacement therapy (NRT) in combination with enrollment in Quit Line cessation counseling.

Working Together
Just as your physician recommended to you, now is a great time to quit smoking. The free Nicoderm patches and free cessation counseling are available through a partnership between the Ohio Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Foundation’s Ohio Tobacco Quit Line and four of the state’s most proactive insurance providers. The public-private partnership is the first quit-smoking program of its kind in the country.

It Starts With a Phone Call
Taking advantage of this program is as simple as calling the Quit Line. Callers connect with a designated quitting specialist and enroll in the program. If the caller is insured through any of the participating insurance carriers and would like free nicotine-replacement patches, this information is collected during the enrollment process. The caller provides his or her insurance policy number. The staff verifies the caller’s insurance coverage with the participating plan. An order for four weeks of nicotine-replacement patches is then processed. The NRT is shipped directly to the caller’s home.

If, after four weeks, the caller needs additional time on the NRT and is still receiving cessation counseling, he or she can renew the order once, for a maximum of eight weeks of free patches.

All callers are also given a Quit Kit that includes brochures about tobacco use, tips on quitting and locations of additional resources.