Make It Your New Year’s Resolution: Get Skilled and Free Help to Quit Smoking
Vermont Department of Health Quit Line Getting Record Number of Calls
DATE: December 27 , 2004
CONTACT: Moira Cook
Tobacco Control Chief
Vermont Department of Health
802-863-7592
Mark Ray
Kelliher Samets Volk
802-862-8261
mray@ksvc.com
BURLINGTON - More Vermonters than ever before have called the Vermont Department of Health’s Vermont Quit Line in 2004 for help quitting smoking, and the year isn’t even over. By the end of November, the Vermont Quit Line had received 2,286 calls this year, up by 46 percent compared to the same time last year.
The Vermont Department of Health is encouraging everyone who is thinking about quitting smoking to make it their New Year’s Resolution in 2005. A study published in The New England Journal of Medicine showed that quit-line counseling – including quitting strategies, ongoing support and local referrals over the phone – doubles the chances of success.
“More Vermonters are finding out that the counselors at the Vermont Quit Line are not just friendly – they really know how to help people quit. Starting the new year smoke-free is a wonderful gift to yourself and to your family and friends,” said Health Commissioner Paul Jarris, MD. “We’re very proud of the thousands of Vermonters who quit and are celebrating smoke-free anniversaries in the new year.”
There are a number of inspiring stories that have come from Vermonters who have used the Vermont Quit Line to help them stop smoking:
- After 30 years of smoking, one woman made up her mind to quit and was encouraged by phone calls she received from the Vermont Quit Line. One way she learned to deal with a cigarette craving was to jump on the treadmill, and she lost 40 pounds.
- At age 25, a Brattleboro father called the Vermont Quit Line when he wasn’t able to climb stairs without losing his breath. He now enjoys his health and the “dinner and a movie” money available to him every week now that he no longer spends the money on cigarettes.
- A Northeast Kingdom couple quit together, and the horrible headaches the husband used to get stopped soon after he put down his last cigarette. The couple uses the extra money to pay bills.
- A Chittenden County resident in her 40s saved a large grocery bag with the Vermont Quit Line phone number printed on it. Last fall, when she was ready to quit smoking, she pulled out the Quit Line grocery bag and made the call.
To help even more Vermonters enjoy a smoke-free new year, the Vermont Department of Health is offering free or discounted nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) patches, gum and lozenges. The NRT is available by calling the Vermont Quit Line.
Approximately 92,500 adult Vermonters smoke, and an estimated 800 die annually from smoking-related diseases (including heart disease and cancer). Vermonters who want to learn more about the resources available to help them stop smoking can call the Vermont Quit Line toll-free at 1-877-YES-QUIT (937-7848).