Manitoba launches pharmacist-based smoking cessation program

In this three-year smoking cessation assistance program, launched through private subscription, the Canadian province of Manitoba wishes to offer local assistance to smokers wishing to quit.

A much-expanded version of “No Tobacco Month” with quantified outcomes targets, that’s what the “Quit Smoking With Your Manitoba Pharmacist” program looks like. Originally scheduled to launch in 2020 and delayed due to the pandemic, the smoking cessation program has now officially launched for three years.

A program financed by public subscription

Over this period, the program plans to enroll a total of 4,500 participants, including 1,500 in the first eighteen months. The stated objective is to support 12% of these participants in maintaining their smoking abstinence at six months and twelve months, and at least 6% of them at twenty-four months. The repayment of the funds advanced by private investors will be assessed based on the results obtained in terms of smoking abstinence.

The other originality of this program is indeed its call for a public subscription to finance it, a first for a social program, after a first successful attempt in this province on environmental issues. The pharmacy chain Shoppers Drug Mart has thus joined the process by investing 2 million Canadian dollars in the program, which will be reimbursed with a bonus of 6% by the provincial government in the event of achieving the objectives.[1]The operation extends well beyond this chain, since a total of 500 pharmacies in the province are participating.

Maximizing the chances of successful smoking cessation

Among other provisions of this program, participating pharmacists receive training in smoking cessation assistance, in order to be able to provide personalized advice to smokers and better guide them in choosing nicotine replacement treatments. These treatments are also reimbursed to program participants up to 100 Canadian dollars per year. The program is open to all smokers over the age of 18, and pays particular attention to mothers who smoke and women wishing to have children.

The ultimate goal of the program is to maximize the chances of successful smoking cessation in the medium term. "There is evidence that individuals trying to quit smoking are more likely to succeed when professional advice is combined with effective medical treatments to manage cravings and withdrawal symptoms.", said Darren Murphy, president of Manitoba Pharmacists.[2]The local government hopes to save $1 million Canadian per year. Of Manitoba's 220,000 smokers, about 2,000 die each year.

Keywords: Manitoba, Canada, pharmacists, smoking cessation, nicotine treatments

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