Issue 1 – Launching NAQC Highlights: Programs and People with a Feature on Carol Cramer and the Kansas Tobacco Use Prevention Program In our first edition of NAQC Highlights: Programs and People, we featured Carol Cramer and the Kansas Tobacco Use Prevention Program, showcasing her 25-plus-year public health journey. Her work has helped drive historic declines in adult and youth smoking through expanded treatment access, digital cessation tools, provider training, and strong partnerships, even as new nicotine products and funding challenges continue to test the field. Issue 2 – Increase of Provider Referral Strategies to Quit Now Montana (QNM) Under Nicole Aune’s Leadership In the second edition, we featured Nicole Aune, MPH, Section Supervisor, and Quit Now Montana (QNM), celebrating her nearly nine years with the Montana Tobacco Use Prevention Program and her optimism about the progress and future of commercial tobacco control. Under Nicole’s leadership, QNM is seeing its first increase in provider referrals and overall participation in almost a decade.
Issue 3 – Evolution of Wisconsin Quit Line Under Vicki Huntington Leadership We spotlighted Vicki Huntington, Section Chief/State Program Manager at the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, whose career in commercial tobacco prevention and treatment spans back to 1997 and is deeply rooted in both professional commitment and personal experience. From her early work at the American Lung Association of Gulfcoast Florida to leading Wisconsin’s tobacco efforts since 2008, Vicki has championed equity-focused, community-centered approaches that address tobacco industry targeting and reduce tobacco-related harms.
Issue 4 – Ohio Tobacco Quit Line’s (OTQL) New OBGYN Training and Outreach Program We were thrilled to spotlight the Ohio Tobacco Quit Line (OTQL) drive for innovation in tobacco cessation through its new OBGYN Training and Outreach Program focused on pregnant and postpartum populations. This program combines printed materials in 145 OBGYN offices with a six-touch email campaign to 1,500 providers that offers on‑demand, continuing‑education training, OTQL is strengthening provider awareness, increasing incentivized participant actions, and improving referral flows, ultimately helping more Ohio families move toward tobacco‑free lives.
Issue 5 – 802Quits Offered by Vermont Department of Health We featured 802Quits, implemented by the Vermont Department of Health, a comprehensive, evidence-based quitline program that offers Vermonters free, personalized support to quit tobacco and nicotine through phone, online, and text services. It combines coaching, peer support, and free nicotine replacement therapy with tailored protocols and incentives for priority populations, including Medicaid members, uninsured adults, menthol users, people with mental health conditions, pregnant and postpartum adults, and Abenaki and other American Indian or Alaska Native communities.
Issue 6 – The Newfoundland and Labrador Smokers’ Helpline (NL Smokers’ Helpline) Creative Innovation to Drive Quits This was our first feature highlighting a Canadian quitline. The Newfoundland and Labrador Smokers’ Helpline (NL Smokers’ Helpline), operated by NL Lung and funded by provincial and federal governments, is a small but highly impactful quitline serving one of Canada’s highest-smoking-rate provinces. Since 1999, it has been a core pillar of the province’s tobacco control strategy, offering tailored, evidence-based support that reflects Newfoundland and Labrador’s unique culture, geography, and health system.
Issue 7 – Utah’s Department of Health and Human Services Youth Advocacy Drive Policy Change This issue featured the Utah Department of Health and Human Services and focused on a major policy win that grew directly from youth advocacy: the passage of HB 128, which removed the parental consent requirement for teens ages 13–17 to access confidential, evidence-based tobacco cessation services. By eliminating this barrier, Utah has expanded youth control over their own health and strengthened its efforts to prevent lifelong nicotine addiction.
Issue 8 – Patricia (Pat) Bax’s Leadership in Driving Referrals and Equitable Tobacco Treatment at the New York State Quitline We spotlighted Patricia (Pat) Bax, MS, RN, NCNTT, the marketing and outreach coordinator for the New York State Quitline, where she has spent two decades building a broad network of engaged healthcare partners. Drawing on her background directing behavioral health outpatient clinics and her clinical experience in addiction care, she has inspired clinicians and health systems across New York to integrate tobacco treatment into routine practice through referral programs, trainings, and seminars. Issue 9 - Alaska’s Tobacco Quit Line (ATQL) the Talking Circles Project This feature highlighted Alaska Tobacco Quit Line's (ATQL) culturally grounded evaluation project, co-designed with Tribal health leaders, to understand and address lower quitline use among Alaska Native people and improve services overall. The Talking Circles Project gathered deeper feedback from Alaska Native community members and Tribal health staff across the state, generating key recommendations around language and cultural support, stronger nicotine replacement therapy education, more flexible and accessible service options, enhanced cultural competency among coaches, and dedicated Alaska-based coaching relationships. Issue 10 - Empathetic, Multichannel, and Equitable: How QuitNow BC Elevates Quitline Care We spotlighted how QuitNow BC shows that a mature quitline can have a greater impact by prioritizing user experience, streamlining intake, and offering multiple ways to connect, including phone, chat, text, web, and groups, rather than relying on phone coaching alone. Its strong quit outcomes and high satisfaction seem closely linked to an empathetic, nonjudgmental coaching model that supports people who may not be ready to quit yet but are open to reducing use or exploring their options. Issue 11 – North Carolina’s Partnership Between QuitlineNC and NC Medicaid This feature showcased how North Carolina’s tobacco cessation efforts have been significantly strengthened through a long-standing partnership between QuitlineNC and NC Medicaid, which began in 2008 and has grown into a robust, system-level collaboration. Over time, the partners have leveraged federal cost-sharing, CDC’s 6|18 Initiative, and the shift to Medicaid Managed Care to expand access to evidence-based quitline services, align benefits and policies, and embed enhanced cessation supports - especially for members with behavioral health needs. Issue 12 – Oklahoma’s Use of Limited Time Offers to Increase Helpline Engagement Our 12th issue featured how, since 2022, the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) has used Limited Time Offers (LTOs) to boost engagement with the Oklahoma Tobacco Helpline (OTH) and respond to post-pandemic enrollment declines. Supported by coordinated, multi-channel marketing across television, print, digital, and social media, these offers are timed for traditionally slower enrollment periods to create urgency and increase participation.
Thank you for helping us celebrate a year of member stories that inspire the quitline community! Warm regards, NAQC Staff | 
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