HR0457 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

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HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The State of Illinois has adopted policies to ensure the health of all Illinoisans with strong stances on smoke-free policies; and

WHEREAS, Tobacco use is the number one cause of preventable death in Illinois, killing 18,300 annually; annual health care costs in Illinois directly caused by smoking is $5.49 billion, and productivity losses in Illinois caused by smoking amount to $5.27 billion; and

WHEREAS, The Illinois Tobacco Quitline has been funded by the Master Tobacco Settlement Agreement since 2001; the Master Tobacco Settlement Agreement is the result of a lawsuit settlement between 46 states and the 4 largest United States tobacco companies; the settlement was to be used to help states recoup the billions of dollars spent on tobacco-related health care costs and to provide tobacco prevention and cessation services to prevent future tobacco-related health care costs; and

WHEREAS, The Illinois Tobacco Quitline has been the cornerstone of cessation programs in Illinois to help Illinois residents quit smoking in order to comply with new smoke-free policies across Illinois; and

WHEREAS, The Illinois Tobacco Quitline is the only statewide cessation program that is available to all residents regardless of location or socioeconomic status; and

WHEREAS, In Fiscal Year 2014, the Illinois Tobacco Quitline answered over 96,000 calls; projections for Fiscal Year 2015 are significantly higher, with 110,000 calls projected; and

WHEREAS, Approximately 25% of these calls came from Medicaid recipients; tobacco-related disease treatment for Medicaid recipients costs the State nearly $2 billion annually; and

WHEREAS, The Illinois Tobacco Quitline has a very high quit success rate of 43%, with average cessation programs having a quit success rate of around 20%; smokers who attempt to quit on their own have only a 4% to 5% success rate; and

WHEREAS, On July 1, 2015, over 60 public college campuses will become smoke-free across their entire campuses pursuant to Public Act 98-985; the Illinois Tobacco Quitline is the number one cessation service offered at each of these campuses to help faculty, staff, and students to quit; and

WHEREAS, Smoke-free policies are second only to cigarette tax increases in encouraging smokers to quit; and

WHEREAS, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's "Tips From Former Smokers", a nationwide media campaign that drives calls to state tobacco quitlines, is currently running ads that increase the number of calls to the Quitline by 240%; and

WHEREAS, All 92 local public health departments across the State promote the Quitline and refer smokers to the program on a daily or hourly basis; they also purchase local media to promote the Quitline; and

WHEREAS, Over 500 partners across the State, including hospitals, doctor's offices, and federally qualified health centers, refer patients to the Quitline on a daily or hourly basis; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we show our support for the Illinois Tobacco Quitline as the cornerstone of cessation tools for the State of Illinois.