Do you feel like a slave to cigarettes? Are the people you love breathing your secondhand smoke? Would you like to feel better, have more energy and save about $1500 a year? You can quit smoking with Quit Smart, Duke University’s unique smoking cessation program that Well U now offers to Elon University employees.
Elon will cover the cost for the program and materials so it’s free to you. Class size is limited to 12 participants and registration is required.
Schedule
- Monday Sept. 19, 26 and Wednesday Sept. 28 from noon to 1 p.m. (box lunch provided)
- Tuesday Oct. 4, 18 and Thursday Oct. 20 from noon to 1 p.m. (box lunch provided)
How it works
Quit Smart combines powerful treatments to help you break free from cigarettes. Discover:
• A simple brand-switching procedure to ease off nicotine
• Eight ways to minimize weight gain
• A hypnosis audiotape to help you relax
• New ways to use stop-smoking medicine to triple your chance of success
• How to create a nonsmoking self-image.
The success rate for Quit Smart is twice that of other methods. No stop-smoking program is totally painless, but Quit Smart comes close!
For more information or to register call Elon Wellness Center at ext. 5569.
Tips for kicking the habit
The American Cancer Society offers Quitline (1-800-227-2345) for those who are trying to stop smoking. Using Quitline can more than double your chances of quitting successfully. Counselors at Quitline can connect you with smoking cessation programs in your community as well as support groups and Internet resources.
If you’re ready to quit:
• Set a date for quitting. Take one day at a time, and set short-term goals.
• Tell your family and friends about your plans. You will need their encouragement when you feel the urge to light up. Having social support is one of the keys to quitting successfully.
• To avoid temptation, get rid of all cigarettes, lighters and ashtrays.
• Schedule an appointment with the Wellness Center Physician Assistant about using a medication or nicotine replacement therapy as an alternative to quitting “cold turkey.”
• When you first try to quit, change your routine. If you usually light up during your morning coffee, then eat breakfast
in a different place or drink tea instead of coffee.
• When you quit and still get the urge to smoke, talk with someone, go for a walk, drink water or get busy with a
task. Reduce your stress by taking a hot bath, exercising or reading a book.
• Lastly, take advantage of the free Elon Quit Smart smoking cessation classes.
The Dangers of Secondhand Smoke
Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) is commonly called secondhand smoke. Smoke from the burning end of cigarettes, pipes or cigars and smoke exhaled from smokers contains more than 4,000 substances, more than 40 of which are known to cause cancer in humans and animals. It is classified as a Group A carcinogen by the EPA,a rating used for substances proven to cause cancer in humans. (Group A carcinogens also include radon and asbestos.)
Exposure to secondhand smoke, also called involuntary smoking or passive smoking, is concentrated indoors where ETS is often the most significant pollutant. Indoor levels of the particles you may inhale (the “tars” in the cigarettes) from ETS often exceed the national air quality standard established by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for outdoor air.
According to the American Cancer Society, ETS causes about 3,400 lung cancer deaths and about 46,000 deaths from heart disease each year in healthy nonsmokers who live with smokers. Nonsmokers living in the household are also more likely to get asthma and other respiratory problems, eye irritation and headaches.
Submitted by Cindy Novak, Wellness coordinator