Tobacco and tobacco smoke contain thousands of chemicals. Nicotine is the deadly chemical in tobacco that people using tobacco products get addicted to. Tobacco products such as cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco, and most e-cigarettes contain nicotine. According to heart.org, smoking is the most preventable cause of death in the United States and almost one third of deaths from coronary heart disease are due to smoking and second-hand smoke.

Smoking cessation treatments help people to quit smoking. While documenting such treatments, hospitals may have to report the toxic effect of tobacco products as well. There are specific ICD-10 codes to report the toxic effect of tobacco and nicotine. These codes should not be used with F17.2 nicotine dependence. Medical coding tasks can be outsourced to experienced medical coding companies to ensure accurate claims.

Practices must make sure to partner with experienced medical coders who are up to date with the changing ICD-10 codes.