Smokers: A Healthier Future Starts When You Quit
Courtney Carter
/ Categories: WELLNESS, 2024

Smokers: A Healthier Future Starts When You Quit

Despite significant progress in reducing smoking rates—dropping from 42% in 1965 to about 14% in 2019—approximately 34 million American adults still smoke. In fact, smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death in the U.S., responsible for about 480,000 deaths annually.

The Great American Smokeout serves as a reminder of these statistics and emphasizes that quitting smoking can dramatically reduce cancer risk and improve overall health.

The journey to becoming smoke-free begins with one day. By participating in the Great American Smokeout on November 21 and quitting for just one day, you can begin planning your journey towards being smoke-free for life.

To ensure the best chance of success, it’s helpful to make a plan for how you’ll succeed on November 21 and beyond.

First, stay focused on how quitting will improve your life and health. Did you know that within 8 minutes of quitting smoking your heart rate and blood pressure begin to return to a normal level and your hands and feet begin to warm to their usual temperature?

Click here for more benefits you’ll appreciate in the minutes, hours, weeks, and months after quitting.

Second, seek support.

This includes letting those around you—family, friends, and coworkers—know of your desire to quit and how important it is to you. If they’re smokers, ask them to keep tobacco out of sight

In addition, tap into the many FREE resources are available to support you on journey. Here are just a few places to start.

 

IN VERMONT:

802Quits

802quits.org

A free program offering personalized counseling and tips and tools—including nicotine replacement patches, gum or lozenges, delivered directly to your home—to quit any nicotine or tobacco product. Vermont residents ages 18 and older may be eligible for cash-value gift card rewards, up to $250, for completed coaching calls. Some conditions apply.

My Healthy Vermont

Myhealthyvt.org

Offers free weekly, small-group workshops offered online and in person with trained leaders and fellow aspiring ex-smokers to guide and support you in creating a plan of action for becoming tobacco-free, tips for managing the stress of quitting and cravings, as well as free gum, lozenges, and patches.

For a list of upcoming classes, visit: myhealthyvt.org/workshop_dates/?cat=4

My Life My Quit

vt.mylifemyquit.org

Designed specifically for teens under age 18 who want to stop using tobacco products, including electronic cigarettes. The program combines best practices using real-time talk, texting and online chat for youth to reach a Tobacco Cessation Coach to receive smart, simple and effective help.

 

IN MASSACHUSETTS:

1-800-QUIT-NOW

1-800-784-8669

Call for free, confidential one-on-one coaching from a trained Quit Coach by phone or online who share strategies to curb cravings, handle life’s big and small stresses, and tackle relapses. Quit Coaches can help you connect with quit-smoking medicines through your health insurer or community programs and may also be able to provide you send an initial two-week supply to your home at no cost to you.

My Life My Quit

ma.mylifemyquit.org

Designed specifically for teens under age 18 who want to stop using tobacco products, including electronic cigarettes. The program combines best practices using real-time talk, texting and online chat for youth to reach a Tobacco Cessation Coach to receive smart, simple and effective help.

 

IN NEW YORK:

New York State Smokers’ Quitline   

1-866-NY-QUITS (1-866-697-8487)

Call to be connected to a trained Quit Coach who can support and guide you as you navigate a path to smoke-free living.

Learn2QuitNY

Text 716-309-4688 to participate in a six-week text messaging program that will take you through the quitting process step-by-step. 

This Is Quitting

Text “DROPTHEVAPE” to 88709 

A free texting support program for teens and young adults (ages 13-24) looking to quit vaping. Parents can also text “QUIT” to 202-899-7550 to receive daily advice to help youth quit.

Virtual The Butt Stops Here Program  

A free 7-week online group tobacco cessation program that meets once per week with a trained facilitator. To register or for more information, email ButtStopsHereNY@gmail.com.

 

In addition, the American Cancer Society (ACS) offers Empowered to Quit, a free, email-based program to help you quit smoking. Developed by researchers at the ACS, improves the odds of successfully quitting by 47%.

 

Kim Fodor, MD, is a primary care physician at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center’s Internal Medicine Department.

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Interview with Jeff Silverman: 3D Printer

Jeff Silverman is a Wilmington native, a volunteer firefighter, and a business owner. From an addition to his Whitingham, Vermont, farm house, his company, Inertia Unlimited, develops camera technology for broadcast television.

"We make them out of thin air," he says.

Actually, he uses a 3D printer to make prototypes and one-of-a-kind cameras for very specific purposes, including those that sit in the dirt in front of a batter during Major League Baseball games and the ones built into NASCAR racetracks.

Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, Jeff has printed 463 face shields for first responders in the Deerfield Valley and healthcare workers at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center and other places. He has delivered them free of charge.

When and how did you first become interested in printing shields for first responders? In one day, every job we had disappeared. We went from having 20 – 30 jobs to zero in one day. Our first thought was that we would use the materials and talent we typically use to sew the pouches for our cameras to make masks. But we quickly found that the proper materials and techniques were not available to make effective masks. Plus so many other people were making them. They had it covered.

On Sunday, March 22, I read in the New York Times that a company in Syracuse, NY, had made a design to 3D print face shields available online. By noon that day I was printing. Since then the printer has not stopped.

How does it work? The printer converts the design into a 3D object using filament that is the width of a human hair, adding layer by layer. The printer takes 2 hours to print one shield. I have produced 380 shields so far. That's 1000 hours of printing. I take from midnight to 5 a.m. off. We've done more 3D printing in the last month and a half than we had in the previous 5 years.

Describe the shields. It was important to me to produce something that was good quality. Sometimes the ones you buy don’t clean up very well. These can survive UV light and other sterilization. They are rough and tough.

Where have you distributed them? First I gave them to the firefighters in Wilmington and Whitingham, where I am a volunteer. Then I gave some to the Deerfield Valley Rescue. I have sent 324 to Southwestern Vermont Health Care, some to SVMC Deerfield Valley Campus; Golden Cross Ambulance Service and Sojourns Community Clinic, both in Westminster, VT; and Rescue Inc. in Brattleboro. I sent some to a dentist in Portland, ME, who asked, and 10 to North Central Bronx Hospital to a friend who works there.

What's your greatest accomplishment? I went to Wilmington High School in the late 70s, and Dave Larson, who was the social studies teacher and former longtime VT state representative, had a video camera. He let me borrow it to film field hockey games. At the end of the season, they gave me a varsity letter for my film work. I have won Emmys since, but that varsity letter is special, because it represented the beginning.

What's next? We look forward to reopening. For us, it's the easiest thing in the world. No client ever comes here. We didn't lay anybody off. We hired locals. All are full-time with benefits. We think Vermont is a great place for low-impact companies like ours, and we hope more companies discover Vermont and come here to provide well-paid jobs.

And I am really looking forward to turning the printer off.

On behalf of Southwestern Vermont Health Care's frontline staff, thank you to Jeff for his tireless efforts to provide vital equipment to our teams. We appreciate it!

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