ValueOptions® Launches New Tobacco Cessation Program; 'Holistic' Approach Offers Sustained Coaching

NORFOLK, Va., Nov. 10, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- To quit smoking is so difficult it has become the subject of jokes: I'm an expert at quitting; I've quit 20 times. But unfortunately the health consequences associated with tobacco use are no laughing matter.

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Because of this infamously difficult path, ValueOptions® has launched a new tobacco cessation program called "Tobacco: Kick It!" that helps employers help their workers quit. The "Tobacco: Kick It!" program helps people quit tobacco by coming at the problem from several angles: telephonic coaching, nicotine replacement products, educational materials and interactive Web-based tools.

"Tobacco users want to quit, and many try each year, but they need help to quit for good," said Rich Paul, vice president of ValueOptions'® Health & Performance Solutions. "That help has to address physical, psychological and social issues that reinforce tobacco use."

Though smokers have been banished from restaurants in most states and pushed to the edge of workplace campuses, one out of five adult Americans still smoke. And regardless of where people smoke, the price of lost productivity and medical expenditures to employers is significant: More than $9,000 per smoker each year.

The ValueOptions® program takes into account that different people face different obstacles and are at varied levels of readiness to quit. While more than 70 percent of smokers want to quit, only 3 to 5 percent of those who try actually remain smoke-free for a year.

ValueOptions® tobacco cessation program gives people the customized support they need to remove barriers that prevent successfully kicking tobacco use.

"ValueOptions® 'Tobacco: Kick It!' program delivers a wide variety of supports and capitalizes on our expertise in behavior change in order to improve a smoker's likelihood of trying to quit," Paul said, "and this time, succeeding."

ValueOptions®, Inc., the nation's largest independent behavioral health and wellness company, provides services to more than 23 million individuals through a variety of contracts with state and county agencies and, additionally, with health plans and employers. ValueOptions® specializes in management for all behavioral health issues and promotes health and wellness through innovative programs. The mission of ValueOptions® is to improve the health and wellness for the people it serves.

SOURCE ValueOptions, Inc.