Smoking Cessation Program – for pharmacists
The B.C. government’s Smoking Cessation Program helps eligible B.C residents of any age stop smoking or using other tobacco products by:
- Covering the full cost of specific non-prescription nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products, or
- Contributing to the cost of specific prescription smoking cessation drugs
Program policy and claims procedures
- Section 5.20 PharmaCare Policy Manual
- Eligible smoking cessation products (with DINs and NPNs)
- Pharmacists’ Quick Reference Sheet (PDF, 110KB) for submitting claims
- HLTH 5464 - Declaration and Notification form (PDF, 563KB) (for NRTs)
Clinical information
- Impact of BC Smoking Cessation Program (PDF, 170KB): Summary of 2020 evaluation survey
- QuitNow: Healthcare Providers: Training opportunities, referral forms, patient handouts (SmartSteps) and more
- Potential drug interactions with smoking and quitting (PDF, 94KB)
- Smoking Cessation Pharmacotherapy (PDF, 618KB): Summary for health care providers, based on the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH) report, Pharmacologic-based Strategies for Smoking Cessation: Clinical and Cost-Effectiveness Analyses
For your patients
- Patient information sheet and posters
- Healthy Families BC’s Prescription for Health program provides health risk assessment and lifestyle support services
- B.C.'s free quit-smoking program, QuitNow, provides:
- free one-on-one QuitNow coaching by phone, online chat and group sessions, with translation services
- tips and tools for quitting
Patients with federal coverage
PharmaCare covers NRTs for all residents of British Columbia, of any age, who have:
- Active MSP coverage
- Use tobacco, and
- Have not already exhausted their yearly limit on NRTs covered by PharmaCare
This includes individuals who do not have PharmaCare plan coverage and those with active MSP and federal coverage under, for instance:
- Interim Federal Health Program (delivered through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada)
- Veterans Affairs Canada
- Canadian Forces
- Non-Insured Health Benefits Program
- RCMP members (retired)
Residents covered by federal drug plans may choose whether to use PharmaCare coverage or their federal coverage.
Eligible prescription smoking cessation drugs are covered only for individuals under these PharmaCare Plans:
- Fair PharmaCare
- Plan B (Residential Care)
- Plan C (Income Assistance)
- Plan G (Psychiatric Medications), or
- Plan W (First Nations Health Benefits)