The American Cancer Society proposed the Great American
Smokeout on November 15. This is the day when all smokers are urged to give up
their cigarettes and quitting for a day in hopes that they will find a way to
quit smoking for good.
According to new statistics, 30 percent of all cancer deaths are mainly correlated to smoking. Almost 21 percent of the Americans are still smoking, meaning 45 million people. In trying to help people to quit, the American Cancer Society and the Community Health Working Group will provide information and quit brochures in three campus locations.
This day is designed to inform the community about the resources available to smokers through the Center for Health Promotion and Wellness at MIT Medical.
"In conjunction with the Smokeout, we're launching brand new tobacco treatment services," says health educator Lauren Mayhew.
Anyone who intends to quit on cigarettes will have a free appointment with a MIT Medical health educator who is specialized in tobacco treatment. This person will provide a quit plan and necessary strategies for helping patients to refrain their desire to smoke.
"On average, it takes several attempts for someone to quit smoking. It's important that people prepare to quit--it really is something that requires planning and preparation," adds Mayhew.
"I think the Great American Smokeout is great in that
it does promote awareness about smoking consequences and provides excellent
resources and referrals to local programs that can help smokers successfully
quit. Other smokers simply need more preparation let's also help these smokers,”
said Brad Collins, an assistant professor of public health and director of
This is the center where he is the leader of several
programs, witch may help people to quit smoking or to reduce the number of
cigarettes with the hopes that they will quit for good one day.
Philadelphia FRESH ("Family Rules for Establishing
Smokefree Homes") is one of the mentioned programs which deals with
protecting children from exposure to parents’ smoking habit and creating a
clean environment for them. Another purpose of this program is to provide resources
for the mothers who succeed to quit smoking.
Collins said that mothers with very young children have a
hard time quitting because of the stress caused by motherhood. "We get
excited for moms when we can help them make home smoking rule changes, and the
new skills they learn coupled with newfound confidence lead to a decision to
quit smoking. Many of these moms had no intention of quitting smoking at the
start of enrollment," Collins said.
Another program led by Collins is Quit 4 Good whose purpose
is to provide counseling and medication to those people who are ready to give
up on smoking. The program is very necessary in the first three weeks after quitting.
The temptation of lighting a cigarette is at the top of smokers’ needs during
this period. Another goal of this program is to avoid the relapse through counseling
and medical programs, which could improve the patient’s state of mind and make
him stronger and more willing to fight the bad habit.
"Great American Smokeout is a chance for all smokers, not just those who are ready to quit, to create a healthier environment for themselves and their families. We don't want to miss an opportunity to remind smokers that while they can drastically improve their health by quitting smoking, if they're not yet ready to quit, they can consider steps that drastically improve the health of their entire family," Collins said as a conclusion.