Thousands Call 1-800-QUIT-NOW During its First Year

Louisiana Smokers Calling it Quits

September 5, 2006, Monroe, LA Nearly 6,000 people called into the free and confidential cessation resource, 1-800-QUIT-NOW, since it was launched by The Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living in August 2005.

Broad reaching community-level grant programs and mass media campaigns provided Louisiana with the fourth highest call volume to 1-800-QUIT-NOW in the nation.

“Secondhand smoke education through mass media and community-based programs is grabbing the attention of smokers and their families and friends, says Jackie Walden, Monroe Area Regional Coordinator for The Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living (TFL).

The volume of quitline calls over the past year indicates that Louisianans are beginning to understand the real health effects of smoking and secondhand smoke exposure.

Its a sign that were making great progress in the movement towards a smoke-free state, adds Walden.
While thousands of tobacco users in Louisiana are turning to 1-800-QUIT-NOW for help, the tobacco industry continues to develop new ways to hook smokers and make it more difficult for them to beat their addictions.

A report released last week by the Massachusetts Department of Health revealed that the level of nicotine found in U.S. cigarettes has risen about 10 percent during the past six years. The amount of nicotine present in second-hand smoke has increased as well. Greater amounts of nicotine in tobacco products makes it easier for people to get addicted and also more difficult for them to quit, says Dr. Charles Brown, TFL Steering Committee Chairman. This means that the demand for professional services to help combat tobacco addiction will likely continue to rise, adds Brown.

Managed by the American Cancer Society (ACS) and funded by The Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living, 1-800-QUIT-NOW offers free cessation resources and counseling to Louisiana residents, ages 13 and older. Individually assigned telephone counselors help smokers and smokeless tobacco users set goals, identify target dates for quitting and develop personalized quit plans based on their needs. Self-help and educational materials can also be mailed to callers upon request.
1-800-QUIT-NOW counseling is confidential. Callers may receive up to five callbacks from their assigned counselor to help them stay on track, and smokers who are pregnant may receive up to eight callbacks.

Depending on individual interests, counselors can also refer callers to free, local group therapy programs offered through the American Lung Associations Freedom from Smoking Clinics and the Tobacco Control Initiative within the public hospitals system.

1-800-QUIT-NOW, American Lung Association Freedom From Smoking Clinics, pre and perinatal cessation training programs for healthcare workers, a public hospital cessation program, and community programming to prevent youth from becoming tobacco users collectively form a five-pronged strategy to help decrease the rate of smoking in Louisiana and improve the states overall health.

More than 6,400 Louisianans die each year from tobacco-related disease and thousands more are hospitalized. Tobacco use causes more than $2.8 billion in lost productivity and costs to Louisianas health care system each year. Programs that work to prevent our youth from starting smoking combined with ample, effective state and community-based cessation services will ultimately help reduce tobaccos toll on our state, says Brown.

Louisianas comprehensive cessation strategy greatly increases the likelihood that smokers and other tobacco users will receive help quitting while helping reduce the economic burden that tobacco addiction places on our state.

Calls to 1-800-QUIT-NOW are expected to increase next year as Louisianans prepare for the Louisiana Smoke-Free Air Act (Act 815) to take effect on January 1, 2007. Act 815 prohibits smoking in most indoor spaces, including restaurants, to protect Louisianans from the harmful health effects of secondhand smoke exposure. Act 815 is a major step toward a healthier Louisiana, adds Brown.

1-800-QUIT-NOW will no doubt continue to be a key resource to help Louisianans embrace healthy lifestyle choices and changes.

The Louisiana Tobacco Quitline, 1-800-QUIT-NOW, is operated by the American Cancer Society and funded by The Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living, an affiliated program of the Louisiana Public Health Institute.

The Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living provides statewide coordination of existing tobacco control initiatives, funds innovative community programs for tobacco control, and develops statewide media campaigns to help reduce the excessive burden of tobacco use on the states resources and improve the overall health and quality of life in Louisiana.

For more information on creating a smoke-free environment where you live, work and play, visit www.mytfl.org. For help quitting and to learn more about local Freedom From Smoking clinics, call 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669).