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National CooperativeRx is a not-for-profit coalition founded and owned by plan sponsors to achieve higher value prescription benefits through volume purchasing, clinical solutions, actionable data and unparalleled customer service. For your sales and marketing needs, please contact us at 866-679-9479, extension 223
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November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month
November 17th was the 2011 Great American Smoke-out Did you know that tobacco use is the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the US?
443,000 - The number of premature deaths each year due to smoking
49,400 - The number of non-smokers who die as a result of secondhand smoke
70% - The amount of adult smokers who say they want to quit
5% - The percentage of smokers who are able to quit without help
You can benefit from assisting your participants with their efforts to quit tobacco; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the annual cost of tobacco use to an employer averages about $3,400 per smoker per year. Your company can help lower the number of tobacco deaths and save lives from cancer by promoting the importance of quitting and avoiding tobacco products, along with a long-term plan to implement a smoke-free workplace policy.
Research shows that when employers implement a smoke-free policy, smokers are more likely to quit smoking.
For tobacco-free workplace policies, email blasts, newsletter inserts and more regarding quitting tobacco from the American Cancer Society, click here.
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HealthDay. This year's Great American Smokeout took place yesterday. The first Smokeout took place in 1976. 35 years after the first Smokeout, smokers trying to quit have more options available to help them, including 3 different types of drugs. Smoking cessation medications now include nicotine replacement, Wellbutrin/Zyban (bupropion) and Chantix (varenicline). 1-800-QUIT-NOW is also a free help line available to smokers in the United States. (Esposito, 11/16) Full story
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USA Today. Aetna, an insurance provider, recently performed a study with 5,855 members to see what would happen if they gave heart attack victims free prescription drugs. The results found that it was difficult to get patients to sign up for the free drugs, and then only half of the patients took their medication. Even though cost was removed, other reasons patients failed to take the drugs could be side effects and/or forgetfulness. Regardless, the group offered free medication suffered fewer heart problems than patients not offered free medication. The doctors involved believe that the number of problems suffered could have been even fewer had greater adherence been practiced. (11/17) Full story
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Bloomberg. Pfizer, the drug manufacturer of the cholesterol-lowering medication Lipitor, is looking to strike deals with PBMs. Pfizer has approached Express Scripts to discuss the possibility of Express Scripts not selling the generic version of Lipitor. Normally when a generic drug comes along, the brand drug goes down to 10% of sales. For Lipitor, that would be $233M in sales after a generic comes into play (compared with the $932M in sales if an exclusive deal is reached with Express Scripts, the third-largest PBM in the US). (Armstrong, Peterson, 11/16) Full story
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HealthDay. The increased amount of estrogen entering the water supply due to birth control is being examined as a possible reason behind the rise in prostate cancer. A study revealed that in area's with high use of birth control, there was also a higher rate of prostate cancer. At this point it is just a theory, but one that researchers will be looking at more closely. (Reinberg, 11/14) Full story
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Kaiser Health News. More evidence was released this week regarding the rising costs of health care. A state-by-state analysis found that individual family premiums increased an average of 50% between 2003 and 2010. At this rate, premiums for a single family will reach around $24K by 2020. The study also supported other reports that more of the annual insurance costs are being pushed on employees. (Gold, 11/17) Full story
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Drugs.com. The vaccine panel for the FDA voted 14-1 on Wednesday in favor of supporting Pfizer's vaccine to prevent pneumococcal disease in adults over 50. Pneumococcal bacteria causes meningitis, pneumonia and ear infection. (11/16) Full story
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