Make this Year’s Great American Smokeout be the Day YOU Quit Tobacco

Jefferson County Public Health (JCPH) strongly encourages all tobacco users to quit the use of tobacco or, if not ready to quit, to prepare for quitting by reducing use. Whether you smoke cigarettes, cigars, e-cigarettes or use other tobacco products, the Great American Smokeout on November 20, 2014, is the perfect time to make a plan to quit tobacco use altogether, or to even quit for just a day.

Tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of death in the United States and Colorado. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates cigarette smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke causes 480,000 (or 1 in 5) deaths every year in the United States, and for every person who dies from a smoking-related disease, about 30 more people suffer with at least one serious illness from smoking.

In honor of the Great American Smokeout, JCPH is promoting its “Day I Quit” campaign which aims to motivate tobacco users to quit so that they can “have more, do more, and be more”.  The campaign will be running between the months of November through January and will feature transit, movie theater and online advertisements.

If you wish to take the tobacco-free challenge, there are steps to take now to help you prepare and significantly increase your chances of successfully eliminating tobacco from your life.

Resources 

• Colorado offers numerous resources to help you quit smoking or quit using other tobacco products.  Visit www.tobaccofreeco.org to learn more or call 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669). 

• COQuitMobile is a free text-based program that places you on the path to a life free from tobacco. 

• View this American Lung Association fact sheet about what resources are covered under the guidelines of the Affordable Care Act.  

• Attend a free tobacco cessation group hosted by Lutheran Medican Center in Wheat Ridge on Tuesdays at 12pm.  This is a six week drop-in group that provides adults who want to quit smoking with tools and support to achieve their goals.  (You do not need to attend all six weeks in order to participate.) 

• You can also visit the Thinking of Quitting page on the Tobacco-Free Jeffco website for a list of other free or low cost resources to help you quit.

 Jefferson County Public Health’s Tobacco Prevention Initiative is working with students, parents and community members to educate about the harms of tobacco in our communities and to promote tobacco-free living. For more information or to get involved, please visit: www.tobaccofreejeffco.com, email us at tobaccofree@jeffco.us or call Donna Viverette at 303-275-7555.