Vice President for Human Resources

Tobacco Cessation

Ready to quit? We're ready to help.

Classroom options

Coming soon! (West Lafayette)*

The Center for Healthy Living will offer classroom options on the West Lafayette campus. Check back for information.

 Quit Smart combines powerful treatments to help participants break free from tobacco. Participants attending this class will learn to ease off nicotine, use their mind to help, use a hypnosis CD and decide whether to use medication to break the habit. You must enroll in and complete this in-person program by attending at least five of six classes in the program.

• Call the Purdue Calumet Wellness Center at 219-989-2709.
• Visit the Purdue Calumet wellness page for class dates and to register.
• Available to Calumet campus employees and their covered spouses/same-sex domestic partners.

Freedom From Smoking (Fort Wayne)*

To help people along the journey to become a nonsmoker, the first three classes offer tips and techniques that prepare participants to quit smoking and the last three classes offer support. Sessions focus on thinking about quitting, relaxation, wanting to quit, quit day, winning strategies, the new you and staying quit. You must enroll in and complete this in-person program by attending at least five of seven classes in the program.

• Email tillapau@ipfw.edu for class dates and to register.
• Visit the IPFW wellness page.
• Available to IPFW employees and their covered spouses/same-sex domestic partners.

Freedom From Smoking (North Central)*

To help people along the journey to become a nonsmoker, the first three classes offer tips and techniques that prepare participants to quit smoking and the last three classes offer support. Sessions focus on thinking about quitting, relaxation, wanting to quit, quit day, winning strategies, the new you and staying quit. You must enroll in and complete this in-person program by attending at least five of seven classes in the program.

• Call Purdue North Central Wellness at 219-785-5519 for class dates and to register.
• Visit the North Central wellness page.
• Available to North Central employees and their covered spouses/same-sex domestic partners.

Online options

Quit Today* (all campuses)

This online program is designed to help participants get and stay tobacco free. You must complete the program through Step 6. Each step is programmed so that you must wait a minimum of seven days between one step and the next.

• Available to employees and spouses/same-sex domestic partners at all campuses who are covered by a Cigna medical plan option through Purdue.
• To receive credit for this approved tobacco cessation program you must:
  • Register and complete the program through Step 6 at www.mycigna.com. Check out the “Tips to Navigation Registration & Use Program” document for step by step instructions. Special Note: If you have completed this program before and wish to do it again, please see the instructions on page 8 on how to “reset the program”.
  • Print and submit your “completion certificate” at the end of Step 6 to Human Resources Service Center, Attn: B. Fowler, FREH.

Phone option

Indiana Tobacco Quitline* (all campuses)

The Indiana Tobacco Quitline is available seven days a week. This program is provided by the state Department of Health, and it is available to all residents of Indiana. If you call from a number outside of Indiana, you will be connected to a Quitline for that location. Special notice: This program can only be completed once per year. If you have already completed this program, please select another option.

• Available to employees and spouses/same-sex domestic partners at all campuses.
• To receive credit for this approved tobacco cessation program you must:
  • REGISTER: Call 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669) to start the program. A Quitline intake specialist will get your demographic information and register you in the program. You will then be transferred to a quit coach for your initial coaching call or you will be scheduled for an outbound call from the quit coach at a later date.
  • CALLS: Quit coach calls include assessment of status, review of stage of readiness to change, action items appropriate to status, discussion of triggers and barriers, setting a quit date and information/resources. During a coaching call, the quit coach schedules the timeframe for your next call. Should you miss a scheduled call, you can call in yourself to reach a quit coach.
  • TIMING: You will receive four calls with your quit coach. Generally, most people complete their four calls between six and twelve weeks. You may take longer than 12 weeks if needed, but you must not complete the four quit coach calls in shorter than six weeks.
  • SUBMIT YOUR LETTER OF COMPLETION: During your fourth call with your quit coach, you must request a “Letter of Completion.” Once you receive that in the mail, you will turn this letter in to Human Resources Service Center, Attn: B. Fowler, FREH as evidence of completion.

Other options

Community alternative

If you take part in a tobacco cessation program through other campus resources, hospitals or community organizations, you may qualify for waiver of the tobacco-user additional premium, depending on the specifics of the offering.

Before taking part, contact the Human Resources Service Center at 765-494-2222 to review the details of the offering and find out if completion of the program will qualify you for waiver of the additional premium. If the program qualifies, the Human Resources Service Center will provide you with a Community Alternative form that you must have signed by the community program's representative when you have finished the program.

Medical alternative

If you are unable to participate in a traditional program due to a medical condition, contact the Human Resources Service Center at 765-494-2222 to develop an alternative way to qualify for waiver of the tobacco-user additional premium.

Health plan coverage

For all Purdue health plans, the items listed below are covered 100 percent with no copay. You're allowed up to a 180-day supply each year.

Over-the-counter items:

• Nicotine gum
• Nicotine lozenge
• Nicotine transdermal patch

Prescriptions:

• Chantix tabs, dose packs
• Nicotine nasal spray
• Nicotine inhalation
• Bupropion 150mg SR/Zyban 150mg

To get these products, take a physician's prescription to your retail pharmacy.

Office visits only related to tobacco cessation are covered at 100 percent in-network for all Purdue medical plans. Make sure to tell your health care provider that the visit is to discuss tobacco cessation and to code it accordingly.

 For questions about benefits, call (765) 494-2222 or visit the Benefits website.

Tobacco-user additional premium

*If you complete an approved tobacco cessation program by one of the dates below, your additional premium will be waived on all pay you receive in 2013 on or after the listed waiver date.

• Complete approved cessation program by Feb. 28 and qualify for waiver of the additional premium beginning on April 1.
• Complete approved cessation program by May 30 and qualify for waiver of the additional premium beginning on July 1.
• Complete approved cessation program by Aug. 31 and qualify for waiver of the additional premium beginning on Oct. 1.

 For more information about the additional premium, visit the tobacco-user additional premium frequently asked questions page.

 Additional information

Purdue's smoke-free policy is designed to support a healthy campus and limit exposure to secondhand smoke, which has been determined unsafe at any level according to the EPA. As of July 1, 2010, smoking is no longer permitted on campus except in designated areas. For more information on this policy, see www.purdue.edu/smokefree.