Dr. Dorie Apollonio & Dr. Anna Song's Research

UCSF and NCPC Team Launches $1.1M Study to Boost Effective Tobacco Cessation Treatment in California’s Central Valley

Residents of California’s Central Valley experience higher smoking rates and less access to primary care providers than more urban and coastal regions of the state. As a result, pharmacies in the Valley often serve as first-stop clinics, due to the availability of free consultations, lack of appointment requirements, and extended hours of operation. California pharmacists gained the legal authority to independently prescribe (or “furnish”) nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products in 2016, increasing residents’ access to effective smoking cessation treatments.

In 2023, UC Merced’s Nicotine and Cannabis Policy Center (NCPC) and UC San Francisco began teaming up on a groundbreaking, three-year, $1.1 million grant through the Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program (TRDRP) to study pharmacist-furnishing of NRT in the Central Valley. TRDRP aims to “eliminate commercial tobacco use and tobacco-related diseases and to improve the health and well-being of all Californians.” By mobilizing local pharmacists—often the most accessible health professionals in rural and under-supported communities—this project has aimed to:

Stemming from this project, a recent publication by Schneider et al. (2025) reported that Central Valley residents had few positive views towards pharmacist-prescribed NRT, and described concerns surrounding the potential for side-effects and nicotine dependency, despite the low risks and high efficiency of pharmacist-prescribed NRT. This study highlights the need for increased educational efforts and in-store advertising about NRT for Central Valley residents who smoke.