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.

Quit for a Day…Quit for Life

If you’ve ever though about quitting tobacco, or know someone who is, now may be the time to make that change. The Great American Smokeout is Thursday, November 19th and Jefferson County Public Health (JCPH) encourages all tobacco users, whether you smoke or use spit tobacco, to Quit for A Day or Quit for Life. This year the County is dubbing the day the “Great Smoke and Spit Out” to encourage those who using chew/spit tobacco to join the challenge to quit.

According to the American Cancer Society, people who have a plan for quitting DOUBLE the odds of staying quit forever. If you want to take the tobacco-free plunge – whether it’s for one day or for good, there are steps to take now that will help you prepare and significantly increase your chances for success.

JCPH, through the Tobacco Prevention team, is making information available to the community and employers about resources to help quit tobacco for the day or for life. We are also offering “Getting Ready to Quit” classes which are free, one-time, mini-workshops designed to help those thinking about quitting smoking or chewing tobacco to plan for success. There are 2 different sessions scheduled: one on Friday, November 13 from 6 – 8 pm at the Freedom Center (870 Kipling Street in Lakewood) and the other on Monday, November 16 from 6 – 8 pm at Exempla Lutheran Medical Center (8300 W. 38th Avenue, Conference Room F in Wheat Ridge.) To reserve a spot and for more information, call (303) 275-7565.

There are many other options to help support tobacco users who would like to quit. (Please see the list at the end for more information.) You may also visit the tobacco prevention page on the JCPH website, for the “9 Days to Prepare to Quit” plan, which provides information about the key steps to take to successfully quit for good. If you would like a free quit kit with educational materials to support the quitting process, call (303) 275-7509 or email fdjcisan@jeffco.us.

For a list of additional resources on quitting, check out our news release.