In 2025, The Alabama Department of Public Health celebrated the 20th anniversary of its Alabama Quitline program. The program offers free telephone and online coaching that helps residents quit tobacco. Supported predominantly by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) grant funding and Medicaid reimbursement, the program is a shining example of how to address systemic barriers that may inhibit tobacco use cessation.
The free program, which provides up to eight weeks of no-cost nicotine replacement therapy, addresses financial barriers to access for Alabama residents. The program rolls back transportation barriers too, by making coaching available via telephone and online.
The combination of nicotine replacement therapy and counseling more than triples a smoker’s chance of quitting. Since its inception in 2005, the program has answered over 360,000 calls. Its’ most recent report Sustained Investment in Health: Alabama Tobacco Quitline’s Mission to Save Lives (and Dollars), details the program’s success and return on investment.
State-run tobacco cessation programs often save $1 to $4 dollars per dollar spent. = In fiscal year 2023, Alabama’s Quitline program operated on a budget of $1,023,003 and was estimated to have saved approximately $4.7 million. The value of each successful quit is $12,913-- $3,023 in healthcare savings and $9,890 in lost productivity savings. This value is felt not only by individuals but by health care systems and local governments as well.
Tobacco cessation also reduces both cancer incidence and deaths. In Alabama, 33.6 percent of cancer deaths can be attributed to smoking. However, through prevention education and the Quitline program, Alabama has seen a drastic decrease in smoking. More than 10 percent fewer adults are smoking in Alabama compared to 20 years ago.
Using federal grants for state programs like quitting tobacco allows for targeted methodology that addresses health disparities in specific states. That investment pays large dividends not only financially but for residents’ quality and length of life.