DOH-Collier is encouraging Floridians to use Tobacco Free Florida’s free tools and services to make a plan to quit smoking for the American Cancer Society’s 44th annual Great American Smokeout on Thursday, November 21.
Tobacco Free Florida aims to educate Floridians on the various free quit resources available in the state and support them through the process – on the Great American Smokeout and year-round.
“This year we want to increase awareness about this observance day, as it promotes the beginning of a journey toward a smoke-free life. Thousands of people who smoke across the country will join together in taking an important step toward improving their health by being tobacco-free and reduce their cancer risk at the same time,” Kirsten Lezama of DOH-Collier’s Tobacco Prevention Program says.
Most adult cigarette smokers say that they want to quit,1 but quitting smoking is hard and may require several attempts.2,3 Creating a quit plan and using proven-effective resources, like Tobacco Free Florida, can significantly increase your chances of quitting smoking for good.4,5,6 Smokers can and do quit smoking. In fact, today there are more former smokers than current smokers in Florida.7
Tobacco Free Florida’s Quit Your Way program offers free Phone Quit, Group Quit and Web Quit services, in addition to individual tools like texting support, a Quit Guide and helpful emails. Free nicotine replacement therapy – nicotine patches, gum or lozenges – are available to tobacco users who are 18 or older, if medically appropriate.
For more information about Quit Your Way, please visit tobaccofreeflorida.com/quityourway.
About Tobacco Free Florida
The Florida Department of Health’s Tobacco Free Florida campaign is a statewide cessation and prevention campaign funded by Florida’s tobacco settlement fund. Since the program began in 2007, more than 212,000 Floridians have successfully quit using one of Tobacco Free Florida’s free tools and services. There are now approximately 451,000 fewer adult smokers in Florida than there was 10 years ago, and the state has saved $17.7 billion in health care costs. To learn more about Tobacco Free Florida’s Quit Your Way services, visit www.tobaccofreeflorida.com or follow the campaign on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TobaccoFreeFlorida or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/tobaccofreefla.
References:
1 Babb S, Malarcher A, Schauer G, Asman K, Jamal A. Quitting Smoking Among Adults — United States, 2000–2015. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2017;65:1457–1464. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6552a1
2 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease: The Biology and Behavioral Basis for Smoking-Attributable Disease: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2010 [accessed 2018 Dec 14].
3 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Reducing Tobacco Use: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2000 [accessed 2018 Dec 14].
4 US Public Health Service. Treating tobacco use and dependence: 2008 update. Clinical practice guideline. Rockville, MD: US Department of Health and Human Services, US Public Health Service; 2008. http://www.ahrq.gov/professionals/clinicians-providers/guidelines-recommendations/tobacco/index.html
5 US Public Health Service. Treating tobacco use and dependence: 2008 update. Clinical practice guideline. Rockville, MD: US Department of Health and Human Services, US Public Health Service; 2008. http://www.ahrq.gov/professionals/clinicians-providers/guidelines-recommendations/tobacco/index.html
6 Patnode CD, Henderson JT, Thompson JH, Senger CA, Fortmann SP, Whitlock EP. Behavioral counseling and pharmacotherapy interventions for tobacco cessation in adults, including pregnant women: a review of reviews for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Ann Intern Med 2015;163:608–21