Medicare poised to help seniors kick the habit.(Clinical Rounds)

Medicare is investigating ways to help its beneficiaries quit smoking.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services proposed to extend smoking cessation coverage to beneficiaries who smoke and have been diagnosed with a smoking-related disease--or who are taking certain drugs whose metabolism is affected by tobacco use.

The hope is that Medicare's decision to pay for smoking cessation counseling "will encourage and help seniors quit smoking once and for all," Ronald Davis, M.D., trustee to the American Medical Association, said in a statement.

Of the 440,000 Americans who die annually from smoking-related disease, 300,000 are aged 65 and older, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 9% of those aged 65 years and older smoke cigarettes.

The CDC in 2002 estimated that 57% of smokers aged 65 and older reported a desire to quit smoking.

The proposed coverage decision specifically applies to patients whose illness is caused or complicated by smoking, such as heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, lung disease, weak bones, or blood clots--diseases that account for the bulk of Medicare spending, according to CMS.

Beneficiaries are also eligible for the counseling if they take medications whose effectiveness is complicated by smoking, including insulins, and medicines for high blood pressure, seizures, blood clots, or depression.