B.C. smokers lit up phone lines calling 8-1-1 this week to get help quitting.

A total of 7,107 nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) orders were taken during the first week of the Province's smoking cessation program coming into effect Friday, Sept. 30.

The vast majority of smokers who called HealthLink BC at 8-1-1 to register for the program opted to pick up their order at a pharmacy rather than get their order mailed to the home address.

When it came to choice of product, 82 per cent of people who registered chose nicotine patches over gum to help them quit smoking.

Eligible B.C. residents can receive a single continuous course of treatment lasting up to 12 consecutive weeks with either a prescription smoking cessation drug or an NRT product once every calendar year.

As part of the smoking cessation program, varenicline (Champix) and bupropion (Zyban) are also covered by B.C. PharmaCare and are available with a prescription. People will need to see their doctor for a prescription and be registered in a PharmaCare plan to receive coverage for these products. The level of coverage will depend on a person's PharmaCare plan.

Total orders:

• Friday, Sept. 30 = 1,211
• Saturday, Oct. 1 = 1,039
• Sunday, Oct. 2 = 864
• Monday, Oct. 3 = 982
• Tuesday, Oct. 4 = 951
• Wednesday, Oct. 5 = 1,021
• Thursday, Oct. 6 = 1,039

Orders by location:

• Fraser Health = 2,381
• Interior Health = 1,572
• Northern Health = 318
• Vancouver Coastal = 938
• Vancouver Island Health Authority = 1,523
• No postal code = 375

• British Columbia has the lowest smoking rate in Canada for the twelfth year in a row at 14.3 per cent, says the 2010 Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey.
• B.C.'s overall smoking rate fell to 14.3 per cent in 2010 from 14.9 per cent in 2009, according to the CTUMS.
• Overall in Canada, smoking rates are 17 per cent. Ontario has the second-lowest rate at 15 per cent, with Saskatchewan the highest at 21 per cent.
• Approximately 550,000 British Columbians smoke. An estimated 70 per cent of smokers in B.C. want to quit.
• Each year, more than 6,000 British Columbians die from tobacco use. The cost to the B.C. economy is approximately $2.3 billion annually, including more than $605 million for direct health-care costs.

Learn More:

To plan their quit date, smokers are encouraged to visit www.health.gov.bc.ca/pharmacare/stop-smoking/ and www.quitnow.ca

The B.C. smoking cessation program will be available to smokers anytime, so smokers can choose to register whenever they are really ready to quit.

Media Contact:
Ryan Jabs
Media Relations Manager
Ministry of Health
250 952-1887 (media line)
250 413-7121 (cell)