The Government of Manitoba is launching, what they believe to be, the world’s first social impact bond dedicated to helping people quit smoking.
Health, Seniors and Active Living Minister Cameron Friesen says that the social impact bond will help more Manitobans quit smoking and live healthier lives, creating savings for the health system that can be reinvested in the province.
A social impact bond is a social policy tool that brings together the government, the private sector, not-for-profits, and other stakeholders to deliver effective and prevention-focused solutions. Initially, private investments will be used to fund the program. The funds will be repaid if the social outcomes and cost-saving goals of the program are realized. The program will allow the province to look at more innovative solutions without financial risk, all with the goal of delivering better health outcomes for Manitobans.
The government is partnering with Shoppers Drug Mart and Pharmacists Manitoba on a smoking cessation social impact bond, beginning in April of this year. Under the proposed model, Shoppers Drug Mart will invest $2 million over the next 5 years to fund activities around smoking cessation, including counselling and therapies to replace nicotine.
According to research, these forms of treatment can increase the chances of long-term smoking cessation by up to 40 percent.
The goal of the bond is to enrol 4,500 smokers over the next three years based on their willingness to quit and to ensure a minimum 12 percent quit rate.
Friesen says that by increasing the number of Manitobans who successfully quit smoking could save the province more than $1 million annually, due to lower health-care costs.
Anyone over the age of 18 is eligible for the program and approach participating pharmacies for an initial assessment. The program will start in health regions where smoking rates are the highest, like the Northern
Health Region with a 33 percent smoking rate, the Interlake-Eastern Health Region with a 23 percent smoking rate, and the Prairie Mountain Region with a smoking rate of 22 percent.
A 2015 report performed by Manitoba Health determined direct smoking-related illnesses cost the province’s health-care system $244 million a year.
