INDIANAPOLIS — The state of Indiana unveiled a new plan Monday to help people in the Hoosier state quit smoking.
The Indiana Department of Health says tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of death and disease in Indiana.
Yet the state says nearly 22 percent of Indiana adults smoke and more than 13 percent of pregnant women still light up.
State health commissioner Kris Box signed a standing statewide order that allows people over the age of 18 to get tobacco cessation products from a pharmacy without a prescription from a primary care physician.
"Quitting smoking is extremely difficult,” Box said. “It takes some people years to get to the point where they are ready to quit. We want to remove as many barriers as possible, so when that right time comes, there's no barriers to their getting help."
Indiana’s new tobacco cessation order will take effect Aug. 1.
