• Tracking the quit rates at 7-month follow-up is important in measuring the effectiveness of tobacco cessation services and support provided through QUIT NOW. The 7-month quit rate is a standard and accepted measure recommended by the North American Quitline Consortium.
• The 7-month quit rate among smokers in the U.S. averages 29%, but there is no national target set for this measure in Healthy People 2020.
• Locally, we continue recruiting and training health care providers and clinics on tobacco use screening, brief interventions, and referrals to QUIT NOW, specifically for tobacco users who are ready to quit in the next 30 days. QUIT NOW services are most effective for tobacco users who are ready to set a quit date within the next 30 days.
• In FY19-Q1, the Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Program’s (TUPAC's) independent evaluator surveyed 374 QUIT NOW and DEJELO YA participants to determine their quit rates 7-months after enrollment. The FY19-Q1 quit rate for this group was 31.6%, which is slightly better than the target of 30.0%.
• During the next quarter, we are carefully reviewing the potential impact of QUIT NOW service changes that were implemented March 1, 2018 on 7-month quit rates. Service changes involved giving participants the option of choosing á la carte services if they don’t want the most comprehensive package of services. We anticipate that this may change the population of tobacco users interacting with QUIT NOW and potentially their quit rates.
   

• Optum Health (tobacco cessation services provider)
• Media Matched (media contractor)
• TUPAC evaluation team
• TUPAC statewide contractors
• Health care providers
   

The Guide to Community Preventive Services recommends the following interventions to reduce adult smoking:

• Increasing the unit price of tobacco products.
• Mass media campaigns when combined with other interventions.
• Multi-component cessation interventions that include telephone support.
• Health care provider reminder systems for tobacco cessation.
• Reducing client out-of-pocket costs for cessation therapies.
• Smoke-free policies to reduce tobacco use.
   

• Develop and implement a training and outreach program to support health systems change to make tobacco cessation interventions more routine in New Mexico Community Health Centers (CHCs).
• Advise tobacco users to quit and refer those ready to make a quit attempt to appropriate treatment resources.
   

Milestones: 
Q1: 30.0%. Met - During FY19-Q1, 31.6% of QUIT NOW participants remained quit at 7-months.
Q2: 30.0%
Q3: 30.0%
Q4: 30.0%

NMDOH’s Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Program served 7,350 tobacco users in FY18 through its QUIT NOW and DEJELO YA tobacco cessation services. In FY18, about 30.5% of QUIT NOW enrollees remained quit at their 7-month follow-up, a bit higher than the national average of 29% and much higher than the ‘cold-turkey’ quit rate of 7%. Sustained promotion of QUIT NOW services both locally and nationally, as well as ongoing statewide outreach and training of health care providers ensures that there is awareness of service availability and use by tobacco users who are ready to quit. The addition of more customizable services in FY18, which allow tobacco users to pick and choose service components, may have helped more of them in quitting successfully by their 7-month follow-up.