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.

Print
869

Theme picker

MORE NEWS

 

 

 

How to Become a Mask Wearer

Long before COVID-19, online chat groups for people with pulmonary fibrosis (PF) were filled with posts about how uncomfortable it is to wear a mask in public: not physically uncomfortable, a fact that was barely mentioned, but psychologically uncomfortable. For people with this condition or the lung transplant used to cure it, catching a cold or the flu could be deadly. They need to wear masks in public to help protect themselves from getting ill.

The participants discussed how awkward it is riding the bus in a mask, going to the grocery store in a mask, or boarding a plane while wearing one. They were mostly self-conscious that others would think they were ill or weak. Many would rather suffer the risk of getting fatally sick than put a mask on in a department store.

Now, we've all been directed to wear masks in public. Both Bennington and Wilmington's Select Boards have passed local mandates requiring masks in public places. This—along with distancing and handwashing—are crucial parts of returning to a more normal way of life. Suddenly, we are all feeling the psychological discomfort PF patients have felt for many years.

People usually have an interest in blending in. And, just like doing anything out of the ordinary, wearing a mask for the first time definitely feels like putting yourself out there. If we want to return to a somewhat normal way of life, masks are crucially important, along with frequent, thorough handwashing and keeping a distance from others.

Here are a few tips for making the leap from being someone nervous about wearing a mask to being a person who wears one regularly.

Do it for others. We know that people can spread COVID-19 as many as a few days before they get sick. Even if you feel fine, you could have COVID-19 right now without knowing it. At the same time, masks are far better at keeping sick people from spreading germs than they are at keeping people from getting sick. So wearing a mask isn't a sign of weakness; it's a sign of altruism. It's like saying, "I am not certain that I am not sick, so I want to pay those around me the consideration of limiting the likelihood I will infect them." Think of it as a badge of kindness.

Get a mask that fits. We know that masks are not completely comfortable physically. Getting the right fit makes a big difference in their "wearability." Cloth masks are readily available online and from local groups. The Green Mountain Mask Makers have excellent information and resources. If you can, purchase a few types in a few sizes to see which you like best. Buy enough of that type to allow washing between trips out in public.

Get a mask that you like. Once you have found a mask source and as long as you have a choice, pick one that you like. You can choose colors that match your wardrobe or that represent your interests, like camouflage. There are even masks that look like fashionable scarves when they hang around your neck. The sooner we start thinking of masks as part of our outfits, as essential and unremarkable as shoes or a belt, the healthier we will all be.

Try to quit caring about what others think. This one is hard. But one wise PF patient wrote, "I just don't give a darn!" Essentially, he shared that if people want to judge him for wearing a mask, so be it. Their opinions don't have a single thing to do with him. Many in the chat group applauded his confidence and vowed to adopt his attitude.

If we all do our best, soon the cultural scale will tip. Wearing a mask or not wearing one will cease to be a political statement. It will be normal. And thankfully, if wearing a mask in public, handwashing and sanitizing, and keeping our distance are all normal, going out into public again can be safe and normal too.

Donna Barron, RN, is the infection preventionist at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center.

Theme picker

MORE NEWS

Theme picker

VIEW ALL

Theme picker

VIEW ALL

Our Services

PARTNERSHIP IS POWERFUL MEDICINE

A commitment to excellence and a patient-centered approach sets Southwestern Vermont Health Care apart.

 Cancer Care
 Orthopedics
 Emergency
 Maternity
 Primary Care
 ExpressCare
 Cardiology
 Rehab & Residential Care
View All Services

Theme picker

Theme picker

Theme picker

Theme picker

Theme picker

VIEW ALL