Health Department to start quit smoking programs Jan. 18

From press release

Everyone knows smoking is dangerous, unhealthy and increasingly costly. It continues to be this country’s No. 1 cause of preventable death—with nearly one of every five deaths in the U.S. related to smoking. At 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 18, the Winnebago County Health Department (WCHD) will offer a series of classes to help people stop smoking. The smoking cessation program, called “Smoke-Free Solutions,” consists of seven weekly sessions providing education and support to help people end their addiction to tobacco products.

The “Smoke-Free Solutions” program is unique because it moves past the WHY people should quit and emphasizes HOW to quit. It focuses on issues like: the importance of making a plan for quitting; identifying your smoking triggers; dealing effectively with the emotions and stress of quitting; and adjusting your behaviors to deal effectively with your smoking habit and maintaining those healthy behaviors over a long period of time.

Larry Didier, Tobacco Programs coordinator for the Winnebago County Health Department, said: “This program is highly structured, offering a systematic approach to quitting, and focusing on behavioral change. Also, the program teaches participants how they can maintain these new, healthier behaviors for long-term success.”

To help with the physical addiction to nicotine, the program offers free or very low-cost nicotine replacement products such as patches, gums and lozenges. These products are complementary to the behavioral goals of the program. They greatly enhance the program’s overall effectiveness and directly address both the addiction and the habit of smoking.

A registration fee of $35 is requested, but is not required from those who cannot pay. If a participant quits smoking by the end of the seven classes, their $35 will be returned to them.

“More than 100 people in Winnebago County have participated in the program throughout 2010, and more than two-thirds of them report being tobacco-free weeks and months after they have completed the program,” said Didier.

A large number of these successful “quitters” have asked that their fees be retained by WCHD to help more people quit smoking. The support participants receive from one another in the class is primarily the key of their success in quitting smoking.

The financial support for this program comes from a grant received from the Illinois Department of Public Health.

To register for the classes and to find out the exact location of the classes in Rockford, contact Didier at (815) 720-4269 or ldidier@wchd.org.

From the Jan. 12-18, 2011 issue

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