In the United States, national health objectives are described in “Healthy People 2000: national health promotion and disease prevention objectives”.1 2 These objectives are currently being updated for the year 2010, and include the following objectives related to tobacco use cessation: (1) increase to 75% the proportion of cigarette smokers who stopped smoking for at least one day during the previous year; (2) increase to 95% the proportion of smokers who received advice to quit smoking from a health care provider during the previous year; and (3) increase to 100% the proportion of health plans that offer treatment for nicotine addiction (for example, counselling or pharmaceutical interventions). The support of managed care organisations is critical if the nation is to achieve these objectives.

This report describes …