• This is a Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) measure.
• The annual reported rate captures a two-year average of activity during the stated measurement year (MY) and the prior MY.
• The CAHPS survey looks at health care performance from the customer’s point of view.
• The rate, or achievement score, for this question represents respondents who answered 'sometimes', 'usually', or 'always'.

One component of this survey measure assesses the level of tobacco use and three components of this measure assess different facets of providing medical assistance with smoking and tobacco use cessation:

1. Percentage of survey respondents who indicate that they smoke cigarettes or use tobacco every day or some days.
2. Advising Smokers and Tobacco Users to Quit: Adults 18 years of age and older who are current smokers or tobacco users and who received cessation advice during the measurement year.
3. Discussing Cessation Medications: Adults 18 years of age and older who are current smokers or tobacco users and who discussed or were recommended cessation medications during the measurement year.
4. Discussing Cessation Strategies: Adults 18 years of age and older who are current smokers or tobacco users who discussed or were provided cessation methods or strategies during the measurement year.

Smoking and tobacco use are the largest causes of preventable disease and death in the United States and in Vermont. Tobacco use causes disease in nearly every organ in the body.  

Quitting smoking, vaping and other tobacco product use saves lives, reduces cancer and heart disease, and improves overall health. 

Comprehensive cessation interventions that motivate and help users to quit tobacco use can be very effective.  Health care providers also play an important and influential role in asking, advising and counseling tobacco users with quitting. Reimbursement codes (99406, 99407) are available to support providers in brief and intermediate counseling. Counseling paired with FDA-approved nicotine replacement therapy is shown to more than double likelihood of quit success. DVHA provides all 7 FDA-approved quit medications as part of the tobacco benefit.

The percentage of adult Medicaid members who responded that they smoke cigarettes or use tobacco and discussed cessation medications with their health care provider has been declining since 2020. The rate has dropped from 62.1% to 52.9%. This may be due to the efforts of the health department to increase access to free nicotine replacement therapy, both short and long-acting products like gum and patch that when used together are very effective to help with quitting. For several years the University of Vermont Center on Rural Studies had a grant that supported treatment centers with NRT Quit Kits. If a clinic or clinician has a dedicated tobacco treatment specialist or provides treatment, they can contact tobaccovt@vermont.gov to ask about information on accessing NRT for their patients.
 
Last updated:  08/2025