Government programs reach out to smokers wanting to quit
SARASOTA – A new federal and state tax on cigarettes is putting extra stress on smokers wallets. But is it enough to quit? A Suncoast program that helps smokers kick the habit is seeing more people take the plunge and quit…for free.
Over the last three months, Linda Overly has gone from smoking two packs of cigarettes a day to zero. “Dozens…I mean lots of times I tried to quit. It was just so hard.” What finally helped her quit for good? Linda credits Sarasota’s Free Tools To Quit smoking classes. “The support group helped. They would call and check how I was doing. You’ve got to want to quit.”
With money from the state’s tobacco settlement, local health departments in Sarasota and beyond provide free quit smoking classes. The classes are held throughout Sarasota County and vary from 90 minutes to six weeks long, like the one Crystal Bruce teaches. “We teach people how to handle the behaviors they develop after years of smoking.”
There’s also the Florida Quitline, which offers telephone-based counseling, free medications like nicotine patches and gum, and personalized quit plans. “You can triple your chances of quitting if you partner medication with the Free Tools To Quit classes,” says Bruce.
She says as the price of tobacco goes up, so has the number of people wanting to quit. “The state has doubled the number of people calling in for help and locally classes have been filling up faster than we ever expected.”
Crystal says no matter which methods you choose, when you quit smoking, it is important that you have a plan and a support system. “It’s never too late to quit smoking.” It’s a mission she isn’t going to let go up in smoke.
The health department says companies and businesses really have a vested interest in getting their employees to quit, because on average, smokers can cost more than $350,000 a year in health care costs and loss of productivity.
For more information, call the Florida Quitline at 1-877-U-CAN-NOW
