A free smoking cessation program has shut down. Twenty-seven of its workers were laid off yesterday, days after the tobacco quitline received a letter last Friday from the state public health department. The letter said it would get no more money for the remainder of the fiscal year.
It's one of various grants Governor Bruce Rauner says had to be suspended in order to deal with a budget deficit left by former Governor Pat Quinn.
The Lung Association's Kathy Drea says the quitline has a high success rate of 43% and is a resource for low-income residents who can't afford other help.
"We provide nicotine replacement therapy - patches and gum - to clients who call, and don't have access to that through their insurance companies, or have no other way to get those products.”
Drea says that saves money in the long-term. Rauner's budget funds the quitline in the next budget, although at a lower-rate.
Drea says hopefully there will be a staff available to answer the calls. She says quitline's specially-trained nurses and counselors may have found new jobs by July.
