Cigarette smoking rose slightly last year for the first time in almost 15 years.
A survey done in 2008 showed that just under 21 percent of Americans were cigarette smokers, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study was released earlier this month. That’s up slightly from 2007, when 19.8 percent said they were smokers.
In an effort to combat cigarette smoking, the American Lung Association, American Thoracic Society and Congress of Long Association Staff launched the Freedom from Smoking project in 1980.
Somerset Hospital will celebrate the Great American Smokeout from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Nov. 19 in the hospital main lobby.
“Smokers are invited to can their habit,” said Greg Chiappelli, director of corporate communications. “Just toss your cigarettes away in exchange for a cold turkey sub gift card from Subway.”
People may also use a monitor to measure the amount of carbon monoxide in their bodies and a pulse oximeter to measure the amount of oxygen in their blood, try the interactive smoking facts computer, sign paper balloons for the “In Our Hearts” banner for someone affected by tobacco and get tips on how to quit smoking.
Somerset Hospital also offers free smoking cessation classes. To register online for the next classes, which start in January, go to the Web site: stopsmokingsomerset.org.
Jennifer Hostetler, prevention specialist at Twin Lakes Center for Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation, used to teach that smoking cessation class.
“People who attended all sessions quit smoking, but I don’t know if everyone stuck with it,” she said. “You learn to establish rewards for quitting, learn how to overcome cravings and other ways of dealing with stress.”
Quitting smoking is a learning process, she said. People may have to try several times to become successful. Statistics show that people who use the cessation program are six times more likely to be smoke-free one year later than those who try to quit on their own.
“The Freedom From Smoking cessation classes offer individuals a step-by-step plan for quitting,” Hostetler said. “The program focuses on how to quit and remain abstinent.”
A dietitian also talks about ways to avoid gaining weight after quitting smoking, she said.
“It is extremely important to quit smoking,” she said. “Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths. Smoking kills more Americans than homicides, suicides, car wrecks, drunk driving accidents, fires, alcohol, drugs and AIDS. More than 4 million people worldwide die of smoking-related diseases each year. The hospital class is free and if you attend the first four, you get free Chantix (a prescription medicine to help people stop smoking) that can cost $120 to $150. Most insurance won’t pay for it. There’s no nicotine in it — it blocks the receptors in the brain. But like any medication, there can be side effects.”
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