Healthy Boiler workshop focuses on tobacco cessation products

Clinical pharmacist Chelsea Baker at the Center for Healthy Living on Purdue’s West Lafayette campus is presenting a Healthy Boiler workshop to help individuals learn more about the various tobacco cessation products on the market. The virtual workshop will take place Feb. 1 from noon to 1 p.m. ET. 

“Quitting nicotine products is demonstrated to be one of the best things you can do for your health and well-being,” Baker said.

Supporting the physical health and financial wellness pillars of the Healthy Boiler Program, the workshop will review products that individuals may use to support their quit attempts as well as resources to help avoid or waive the tobacco-user premium as part of their Purdue Health Plan.

Attending this workshop will count as one of the four counseling appointments required by an approved tobacco cessation program, resulting in a partial or full waiver of the tobacco-user additional premium for the remainder of the plan year.

“We realize that quitting tobacco- and nicotine-containing products is quite difficult,” Baker said. “This workshop will provide participants with information about what tobacco cessation products are available, how they work and what to expect when using them.”

All Purdue medical plans for faculty and staff cover tobacco cessation products with no copay as long as the employee has a prescription for them (including over-the-counter items). Cessation products do not require prior authorization, and employees are allowed up to a 168-day supply (24 weeks) of each product in one year of treatment. For a list of covered tobacco cessation products, visit the Tobacco Cessation webpage.

Those interested in should register by Jan. 31 via the Healthy Boiler Portal. Registration link can be found under the “Healthy Boiler Workshops” section on the portal’s homepage. Hover over the “Tobacco Cessation Products” square and select “Submit” to register. Healthy Boiler workshops are free to all benefits-eligible faculty and staff and dependents covered on a Purdue health plan.

Tobacco-user additional premium information

Aside from the health benefits resulting from not smoking, there are financial benefits, including a waiver of the tobacco-user additional premium on an employee’s benefits premium. As a reminder, employees (and spouses, if covered) who certify as tobacco users (a person who has used tobacco, including cigars, cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, chewing tobacco, pipe tobacco or any other tobacco product in the past 12 months) during open enrollment each year will pay an additional $1,000 tobacco-user premium on their medical benefits. Premiums for term life, universal life and critical illness insurance also are based in part on whether or not an employee (and spouse, if covered) has used tobacco in the last 12 months, and those premiums may be impacted as well.

Completed program certificates from an approved tobacco cessation program submitted by March 31, 2023, will waive the tobacco-user additional premium for the entire 2023 plan year. If the form is submitted after March 31, 2023, the premium will be waived for the remainder of the 2023 plan year.

For more information about the additional premium, visit the Purdue Medical Plan Tobacco-User Additional Premium: Questions and Answers webpage.

Questions

Anyone with questions about the waivers and tobacco cessation resources available may contact Human Resources at 765-494-2222, toll-free at 877-725-0222 or via email at hr@purdue.edu. Specific questions about the “Tobacco Cessation Products” workshop should be directed to the CHL at 765-494-0111.