Partnership provides thousands of free smoking cessation kits to women

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Lisa Brunette
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INNOVATIVE PARTNERSHIP PROVIDES THOUSANDS OF FREE SMOKING-CESSATION KITS TO WOMEN IN WISCONSIN

MADISON, Wis. -- A unique partnership between Wisconsin1s first lady, a leading tobacco researcher, state and local health officials, and a pharmaceutical company is bringing free smoking cessation aids and health information to 29,000 women in Wisconsin, which has the nation1s highest percentage of reproductive-age women who smoke.

Sue Ann Thompson, Wisconsin1s first lady and president of the Wisconsin Women1s Health Foundation, today launched the distribution of the health kits through state and local health departments and a state cancer control initiative for women. The kits provide helpful information about breast cancer, osteoporosis, domestic violence, depression, cardiovascular disease, heart attack and stroke.

More than 19,000 kits include a six-week supply of nicotine patches -- a quantity shown to double the likelihood that a woman will successfully quit smoking, according to Dr. Michael Fiore, director of the University of Wisconsin Medical School Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention -- an initiative co-sponsor. Patch manufacturer McNeil Consumer Products Co. donated 800,000 nicotine patches to the project, a gift with a retail value of more than $3 million. An additional 10,000 kits are available without patches.

Kit distribution is sponsored by the Wisconsin Women1s Health Foundation, the UW Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention, and the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services.

"This program encourages women to quit smoking, but also goes that extra step to provide the practical tools to help them stop this life-threatening habit," Sue Ann Thompson said. "The kits empower women to make healthy lifestyle changes. Among other things, they encourage women to stop smoking completely and avoid exposure to other people1s smoke."

Thompson, a breast cancer survivor, started Wisconsin Women1s Health Foundation in 1998 to promote awareness, early detection and prevention of diseases that affect the quality and longevity of women1s lives. The Foundation is the first of its kind in the nation to focus on all aspects of women1s health.

"Smoking presents an enormous risk to the health of women," says Fiore, who leads a national effort to provide effective smoking cessation guidelines to health care providers. "The statistics are alarming. More than 2,500 Wisconsin women die prematurely each year as a direct result of diseases caused by their tobacco use."

Smoking is a significant problem for Wisconsin women. About 37 percent of reproductive-aged Wisconsin women smoke -- the highest percentage of any state in the nation, Fiore said. Most Wisconsin women want to quit, however. About 70 percent report that they want to quit and about one-third try to quit each year.

The new initiative is meant to alleviate the cost barriers that some women face, Fiore said. "Women motivated to quit can succeed," he said. "In addition to a personal commitment required to quit, the nicotine patch is one of the most successful aids to promote cessation."

Smoking increases the risk for women of contracting heart disease and lung cancer. Women who smoke are more likely to experience negative side effects from oral contraceptives and have lower fertility rates. Women also increase their risk of ectopic pregnancies and spontaneous abortions when they smoke, Fiore said.

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