Deadly trends: Medicare Benefits Schedule nicotine and smoking cessation items, 2021–23

Background and objectives: Comprehensive nicotine and smoking cessation interventions can be crucial for successful and sustained cessation, but require adequate time, training and experience. This study aimed to quantify uptake of the temporary Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) smoking cessation services from July 2021 to December 2023.

Method: MBS nicotine and smoking cessation claims processed for face-to-face and telehealth services from July 2021 to December 2023 were examined. Quarterly rates of claims and 95% confidence intervals per 1000 people who smoke were calculated.

Results: Overall, 188,904 claims were processed during this period. The national trends in the rate of face-to-face (P<0.001) and telephone (P<0.001) services increased significantly. The quarterly rate of claims processed for face-to-face services increased by 16-fold, from a rate of 1 to 16 per 1000 people who smoke.

Discussion: This study highlights that the temporary MBS smoking cessation services were increasingly used, but that changes to this service might deter smoking cessation efforts.